The light needed is way too strong for your skin, and would burn you in a matter of seconds.
With news of the coronavirus pandemic all over online, print and TV media, it can be easy to get swept up in the crisis. Credible news abounds. So do rumors about where the virus causing COVID-19 really came from, who people think is behind the pandemic, (if anyone), and how best to kill the bug.
One of the ideas now circulating is that we could all use UV light to kill off the coronavirus. For instance, according to an article on BBC.com, some people are suggesting that UV light machines should be present at the doors to supermarkets. People coming and going should be zapped with the rays to be rid of any bugs.
Is this a credible idea? Using UV light to kill off germs is something that, at first glance, may seem like a far fetched approach, but there is some science and logic to the idea.
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According to the University of Toronto’s online news site, UV light is used widely to kill microorganisms present in wastewater as well as drinking water treatment. Natural sunlight is often used in developing countries to sterilize water.
Hospitals also use UV technology to clean their equipment. According to Duke Health, they often use it to cut the transmission of superbugs. These are germs that are resistant to all the antibiotics we have, and as such, are very difficult to treat.
Superbugs can be so resilient that even after a patient who has fought one off in a hospital goes home, they can persist. The room the patient stayed in is of course thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. The next patient staying in the room can still actually be at risk of catching the infection, however.
How does UV work? The light machines are simple. A machine emits UVC light into a potentially infected empty room for roughly half an hour, by bouncing around on surfaces that can be difficult to reach. It kills the bacteria present by disrupting their DNA.
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So, what is wrong with using UV rays to attack the new coronavirus?
According to Zaria Garvett writing for BBC.com, the trouble is that the light needed “would literally be frying people”.
There are three types of UV rays that come from the sun. UVA, UVB, and UVC are all present. UVA and UVB rays are what age our skin, and cause sunburns. Most of us have never encountered UVC rays however, because the ozone layer filters them out to protect us. UVC, however, is the type that inactivates COVID-19.
According to Dan Arnold who works for UV Light Technology and provides disinfecting equipment to hospitals and other industrial users, UVC rays are extraordinarily strong. You can get a sunburn from UVB rays in a few hours but when your skin is exposed to UVC rays, it only takes seconds for the same burn to happen. Your eyes would also be severely burnt in just a few moments if exposed to UVC rays.
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The upshot? It could be that sunlight has a positive effect when it comes to killing off the coronavirus. How long something or someone has to sit in it in order to be effectively disinfected, however, is entirely unknown. As such, the sun is not a reliable source for disinfection. It could take hours, days or even weeks for something to be rid of COVID-19. And for its part, the new coronavirus is only known to be killed off quickly by UV light that is way too strong for us to sit in.
Until better answers come our way, there are other solutions. Washing your hands, using store-bought disinfectants in your home, and waiting in line at the supermarket while practicing social distancing are really the only defences we now have to use against COVID-19. Be patient. Be smart.
