2 healthy ways to break free from being cooped up by coronavirus
By
John Roach, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Apr 23, 2020 9:50 PM EDT
People walk a dog at a park in Kansas City, Mo., as the sun sets Monday, April 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
If the walls feel like they’re closing in during these weeks of social distancing brought on by the coronavirus, there's a solution. Let the sunshine in.
Open or closed windows allow the sun’s ultraviolet rays to stream into a home. In a leaked government study obtained by Yahoo News, researchers found that sunlight is thought to have an impact on SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
“Sunlight destroys the virus quickly,” it notes, according to Yahoo News, although not all experts agree there is proof of that yet.
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According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) briefing in the leaked study, the findings show that transmission of the virus is lower on outdoor surfaces compared to indoor ones. Sunlight through windows could have a similar effect inside a home.
“Windows do not block the sun’s ultraviolet radiation,” said AccuWeather Founder and CEO Dr. Joel N. Myers. “That is a big deal. And if the UV is effective, it may kill the virus on surfaces in the house, just like outside.”
Dr. Jeremy Rossman of Kent University in the United Kingdom told AccuWeather that, in general, UV light is very effective at destroying the genome of viruses and even serves as a weapon to sterilize surfaces in laboratories. "In terms of outdoors, especially if you have a lot of UV exposure, that can facilitate degradation of the virus and facilitate inactivation of the virus,” Rossman told AccuWeather.
AccuWeather first examined the possible role of UV light on the coronavirus more than a month ago. UV light can damage or destroy various types of pathogens, such as SARS and MERS.
In the Northern Hemisphere, increased sunlight and substantial increases of UV rays been ongoing and will continue until June 21, while still contributing significantly until late August or September. "Ultraviolet radiation varies by a factor of 10 at the latitude of New York City from June to December,” Myers said.
The role sunlight plays in destroying viruses has already been noted on AccuWeather.com by John Nicholls, a pathology professor at the University of Hong Kong who is part of a team studying a laboratory-grown copy of SARS-CoV-2.
His team is investigating whether sunlight affects the virus causing COVID-19 the way it affects other viruses, like the flu. “As previously published works show that influenza can be inactivated by simulated sunlight, we are exploring the experimental setting to see if there can be similar inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 by sunlight,” Nicholls told AccuWeather in recent weeks.
Another benefit windows provide during these enclosed times: fresh air. “Air circulation is key. It is healthy to air out your home,” said Myers. His point is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which recommends increasing a home’s ventilation by opening windows to keep your home safe at this time.
“People may be afraid that the germs are going to come in,” Myers said. “The chance of significant virus coming in your window to harm you – if there are not people right outside your window – is infinitesimal. But you are going to get fresh air and it is healthier because if you are in your home cooped up, the air is stale and dirtier.”
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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News / Health
2 healthy ways to break free from being cooped up by coronavirus
By John Roach, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Apr 23, 2020 9:50 PM EDT
People walk a dog at a park in Kansas City, Mo., as the sun sets Monday, April 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
If the walls feel like they’re closing in during these weeks of social distancing brought on by the coronavirus, there's a solution. Let the sunshine in.
Open or closed windows allow the sun’s ultraviolet rays to stream into a home. In a leaked government study obtained by Yahoo News, researchers found that sunlight is thought to have an impact on SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
“Sunlight destroys the virus quickly,” it notes, according to Yahoo News, although not all experts agree there is proof of that yet.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) briefing in the leaked study, the findings show that transmission of the virus is lower on outdoor surfaces compared to indoor ones. Sunlight through windows could have a similar effect inside a home.
“Windows do not block the sun’s ultraviolet radiation,” said AccuWeather Founder and CEO Dr. Joel N. Myers. “That is a big deal. And if the UV is effective, it may kill the virus on surfaces in the house, just like outside.”
Dr. Jeremy Rossman of Kent University in the United Kingdom told AccuWeather that, in general, UV light is very effective at destroying the genome of viruses and even serves as a weapon to sterilize surfaces in laboratories. "In terms of outdoors, especially if you have a lot of UV exposure, that can facilitate degradation of the virus and facilitate inactivation of the virus,” Rossman told AccuWeather.
AccuWeather first examined the possible role of UV light on the coronavirus more than a month ago. UV light can damage or destroy various types of pathogens, such as SARS and MERS.
In the Northern Hemisphere, increased sunlight and substantial increases of UV rays been ongoing and will continue until June 21, while still contributing significantly until late August or September. "Ultraviolet radiation varies by a factor of 10 at the latitude of New York City from June to December,” Myers said.
The role sunlight plays in destroying viruses has already been noted on AccuWeather.com by John Nicholls, a pathology professor at the University of Hong Kong who is part of a team studying a laboratory-grown copy of SARS-CoV-2.
His team is investigating whether sunlight affects the virus causing COVID-19 the way it affects other viruses, like the flu. “As previously published works show that influenza can be inactivated by simulated sunlight, we are exploring the experimental setting to see if there can be similar inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 by sunlight,” Nicholls told AccuWeather in recent weeks.
Another benefit windows provide during these enclosed times: fresh air. “Air circulation is key. It is healthy to air out your home,” said Myers. His point is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which recommends increasing a home’s ventilation by opening windows to keep your home safe at this time.
“People may be afraid that the germs are going to come in,” Myers said. “The chance of significant virus coming in your window to harm you – if there are not people right outside your window – is infinitesimal. But you are going to get fresh air and it is healthier because if you are in your home cooped up, the air is stale and dirtier.”
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo