With abundant sunshine and temperatures going up to the mid-60s (Fahrenheit) for three days now in Amman, I cannot help but hope that hotter weather will soon be upon us and will kill off the coronavirus causing the global chaos we are in.
There is this preprint (not yet peer-reviewed) on medRxiv titled Spread of SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus likely to be constrained by climate which explores correlations between the incidence of positive cases and aspects of weather. The authors write that their models "support the view that the incidence of the virus will follow a seasonal pattern with outbreaks being favored by cool and dry weather, while being slowed down by extreme conditions of cold and heat as well as moist."
Alas, the World Health Organization tells us in its Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) advice for the public: Myth busters page that the virus can be transmitted in ALL AREAS regardless of climate - hot, humid, cold, freezing...The internal temperature of our bodies is still the main point of reference, not the external weather temperature, for assessing the spread of the virus. The WHO page notes that "The normal human body temperature remains around 36.5°C to 37°C, regardless of the external temperature or weather." It is our bodies that the virus seeks to replicate itself.
There is no escaping from diligent hand washing, social distancing and quarantines, for lord knows until when.
At least now in Jordan, the gov't is responding very carefully, in controlled measures, to the need of people to get daily necessities - see the Jordanian gov't's announcements and updates on the Covid curfew on Roya News.
And yes, there may not be evidence that the sun's heat will make the coronavirus slink away, but it sure is nice to have this glorious sunshine melt some of the anxieties away.
There is this preprint (not yet peer-reviewed) on medRxiv titled Spread of SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus likely to be constrained by climate which explores correlations between the incidence of positive cases and aspects of weather. The authors write that their models "support the view that the incidence of the virus will follow a seasonal pattern with outbreaks being favored by cool and dry weather, while being slowed down by extreme conditions of cold and heat as well as moist."
Alas, the World Health Organization tells us in its Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) advice for the public: Myth busters page that the virus can be transmitted in ALL AREAS regardless of climate - hot, humid, cold, freezing...The internal temperature of our bodies is still the main point of reference, not the external weather temperature, for assessing the spread of the virus. The WHO page notes that "The normal human body temperature remains around 36.5°C to 37°C, regardless of the external temperature or weather." It is our bodies that the virus seeks to replicate itself.
There is no escaping from diligent hand washing, social distancing and quarantines, for lord knows until when.
At least now in Jordan, the gov't is responding very carefully, in controlled measures, to the need of people to get daily necessities - see the Jordanian gov't's announcements and updates on the Covid curfew on Roya News.
And yes, there may not be evidence that the sun's heat will make the coronavirus slink away, but it sure is nice to have this glorious sunshine melt some of the anxieties away.
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