News

With widespread reports of coronavirus spreading relatively quickly around the world, one common hope is that the upcoming warmer spring and summer months may help quell the spread of the virus. 

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 100,000 people had contracted the disease worldwide, as of Monday, including at least 423 in the United States. 

While an understanding of the disease is still very much in its infancy and many unknowns remain, one Colorado-based epidemiologist speculates that this state’s warm and dry summer climate could help slow the spread of the disease. 

Thomas Jaenisch, an associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Colorado School of Public Health, said that he believes the state’s dry and warm summer climate could help contain the coronavirus’ spread during the upcoming warmer seasons. 

“I think this is something that is reasonable to speculate,” Jaenisch said. “It’s based on pure physics. How long can those droplets be in the air and not fall down? This depends on how big the droplets are, the ambient temperature, the moisture.” 

“The idea is when it is dry and hot, then these droplets fall down faster. When it is moist and colder, then the droplets can stay in the air suspended and can be taken in by another human,” Jaenisch said. “But we don’t know really know enough about the features of the virus to really be sure.”   

Read the full story at The Denver Post. This story was also published at the Boston Herald and the Saint Paul Pioneer Press.