Coronavirus ‘highly sensitive’ to high temperatures, but don’t bank on summer killing it off, studies say

South China Morning Post ^ | 03/08/2020 | Simone McCarthy

[SeekAndFind]

The virus that causes Covid-19 may have a temperature sweet spot at which it spreads fastest, a new study has suggested, but experts say people should avoid falling into the trap of thinking it will react to seasonal changes in exactly the same way as other pathogens, like those that cause the common cold or influenza.

The study, by a team from Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, the capital of south China’s Guangdong province, sought to determine how the spread of the new coronavirus might be affected by changes in season and temperature.

Published last month, though yet to be peer-reviewed, the report suggested heat had a significant role to play in how the virus behaves.

“Temperature could significantly change Covid-19 transmission,” it said. “And there might be a best temperature for viral transmission.”

The “virus is highly sensitive to high temperature”, which could prevent it from spreading in warmer countries, while the opposite appeared to be true in colder climes, the study said.

As a result, it suggested that “countries and regions with a lower temperature adopt the strictest control measures”.

Many national governments and health authorities are banking on the coronavirus losing some of its potency as the weather warms up, as is generally the case with similar viruses that cause the common cold and influenza.

However, a separate study by a group of researchers including epidemiologist Marc Lipsitch from Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, found that sustained transmission of the coronavirus and the rapid growth in infections was possible in a range of humidity conditions – from cold and dry provinces in China to tropical locations, such as the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region in the far south of the country and Singapore.

[EBH]

Problem is many buildings these days do not have the ability to open windows.

[trebb]

Gosh - like the Flu, it seems to not do well in heat - but it’s “The Great Dem Hope” so it might not follow the rules...
Fox had a doctor on that said that while it can”live on surfaces” for a decent period, the most likely period of transmission from those surfaces is really only a few hours in duration.
Take normal cold/Flu precautions instead of setting your hair on fire and your chances are very good to avoid it...and there is also a chance to be very mild or or zero symptomatic - which reinforces taking practical precautions.