Will the COVID-19 caused by the new coronavirus disappear when the weather gets hot?

Will the COVID-19 caused by the new coronavirus disappear when the weather gets hot?

One of the most talked about issues that we have just entered in spring is that the COVID-19 outbreak caused by the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 will lose its effect in the summer. Is this really the case, will we overcome this epidemic in the summer?

It remains unclear whether high temperatures will effectively kill the new coronavirus sars-cov-2. There is no research to prove this because it is a new virus.

However, we know that the sars coronavirus (sars-cov), which caused a global epidemic in 2002-2003, was killed at temperatures above 56 degrees according to the World Health Organization.

Theoretically, the covid-19 virus – a part of the coronavirus family, including sars and mers – is temperature sensitive. All viruses consist of a nucleic acid molecule in a protein shell called capsid. Some viruses, such as coronavirus, have an outer membrane outside the shell. This membrane is relatively sensitive to heat.

During the 2003 shock epidemic, the number of confirmed cases for every 1 centigrade degree in Hong Kong, where the virus killed about 300 people, decreased by 3.6. Despite this, the shock epidemic lasted 8 months.

The differences between sars and covid-19 make it difficult to predict the flexibility of the new virus. Unlike sars, which can only infect others by patients with fever, people with covid-19 can spread the disease without making any symptoms and make it much more difficult to control the outbreak.

However, a recent study showed that covid-19 was far more contagious than sars. Published on February 15 by the medical research archive biorxiv, the study was conducted by a team led by Texas university researcher Jason Mclellan, who has been researching different types of coronavirus types such as sars and mers.

As the temperature rises, the coronavirus floats or adheres to the surfaces. Both are where they can only survive for a short time. However, once it enters the body, its ability to infect does not decrease with hot air.

Source: nikkei.com