Heat wave an ‘ally against coronavirus’ , says expert

[memory man]

The heat wave gripping Cyprus — with temperatures 12 C above the average for the time of year — is an ally against the coronavirus, a member of the team of scientists advising the government on the Covid-19 outbreak told CNA on Monday.

Professor Petros Karayiannis added that it was possible that in the next few days Cyprus may have no new positive cases or that these may be sporadic.

“I think the heat wave is on our side. Because of the high temperatures we have now if someone is ill and sneezes, the microdroplets will dry very quickly and the virus will be neutralised in this way,” he said.

Karoyiannis said that there may be few if any new cases this week.

“The number of samples taken daily is very large compared to other European countries and I think our method can detect sporadic cases too whereas in other countries such as Greece they do not take them into consideration.”

No concern about the schools

Asked about the two pupils who had tested positive at Aradippou lyceum, he said he was not concerned because they were isolated incidents in an area where there had been a problem.

“I hope that there is nothing worrying from the tests that will be carried out from today until Thursday when remaining pupils go back to school. From there on, we need to learn to live with the virus.

“Whenever there is a case somewhere, this does not mean that we must close down everything and go back in 15 days. We must enforce the protocols to isolate and trace contacts, and life goes on.”

Ready for stage two of relaxation of measures

Karayiannis said Cyprus was ready for stage two of the relaxation of restrictions.

“With the current situation we are ready to move to stage two. I have no doubt about it and I do not think there will be a reversal. After the first relaxation with nearly 60,000 people going back to work, so far, there has not been a single positive case among those who have been tested,” he said.

The two positive cases at the Aradippou school had created a sense of uncertainty, but it was a positive development that they had been found as they remind us of the need to be careful at all times.

“It shows that we must not relax because there may be cases such as these which if we are not careful, can create problems.”

Full speed ahead for phase three of the relaxation of measures

Given the current situation, there is no problem with stage three that is due to start on June 9, he added.

“With the return of pupils to school, tests will continue and I believe that by then the results will be such as to allow us to proceed to stage three.”

There is nothing to give grounds for concern in the epidemiological picture and given that the virus will not, for the time being, come from abroad, it is important to put our house in order.

Opening of airports

Asked whether we should anticipate foreign visitors from June 9 when a tentative date has been given for the gradual opening of airports under conditions, Karayiannis said preparations have still to be made, and therefore visitors should not be expected.

“I do not believe they will open immediately for passengers because various arrangements need to be made, from where we will be accepting tourists, whether bilateral agreements will be required, whether there will be a collective European Union agreement etc.”

If it is decided to open them, Karayiannis said he does not anticipate mass arrival of tourists from abroad.

“I think we will have tourists some in July, whether at the start of the month or mid-July will depend. Of course there may be arrivals in June if there are some countries that have the same epidemiological picture with us such as Greece and Israel. We could open quicker for these destinations.”

Take care to keep a distance on the beach

Karayiannis advised people flocking to the beach to cool off from the heat to comply with social distancing, both in the sea and on the beach.


https://in-cyprus.philenews.com/heat-wa ... ys-expert/

[The Aquila]

Without wishing to take anything away from the great job the government has done, weren’t we told that sneezing was never a symptom of this Virus and if the heat helps, why for instance, did the virus spread through hotter counties like UAE the way it did?

[Kili01]

I thought that sneezing is one of the symptoms qf the virus which is spread in the droplets emitted when a person sneezes, especially if that person makes no attempt to ‘catch’ his-her sneeze.This happened one day when I was in Lidl when the woman coming towards me in an aisle suddenly sneezed violently, inclining her head towards me. I was glad that I was wearing a mask with an air filter.

[Ams]

I think that even if sneezing is not a symptom (which I didn't think it was), if someone has the virus and sneezes for any normal reason, then the sneeze would spread the virus unless the person covers the sneeze up properly.

[Kili01]

Well whatever we think, Covid is a respiratory virus of which I think both coughing and sneezing will spread these droplets. Thus wearing a mask is likely to protect the wearer from inhaling the virus via the droplets,.

Dee

[Dominic]

There are lots of symptoms. Anything that reduces coughing and sneezing though, will reduce the transmission.

[Paul]

I had a respiratory infection in 1990 and I spent 3/4 hour going in and out of a sauna and putting loads of water on the stones.
Next day I was fine and well again.
So heat can kill infections.

[Devil]

I posted the following on the eastern forum and am copying it here because it seems relevant to this thread:

In my opinion, this is probably a load of twaddle.
1. a person infected with the disease in its virulent form probably has a body temperature exceeding 40° C. Think! Do you think that the virus is going to pop its clogs in a feverish person?
2. there have been many cases of the active disease in climates exceeding 40° C, such as in the Middle East and in South America.

Don't believe such twaddle

[Varky]

The advent of hotter weather was seen as being helpful in reducing the possible load on the NHS caused by other infections such as influenza which would reduce as summer arrived. That is all.
The medical opinion is that masks would prevent one getting the Covid-19 viuus has not been proved and it is thought that wearing a mask would only prevent the spread of the infection if the wearer of that mask was already infected. A mask would only provide minimal protection for the wearer against getting the virus and even then only if it was the correct type and well fitted.

Sneezing is recognised not to be a symptom of the virus but if an infected person happens to sneeze or to cough then the virus will spread via the droplets, hence the advantage of wearing a mask if one is already infected to stop the spread of the infection.
The infection is more likely to spread via touching infected surfaces and then touching one's face/eyes, hence the recommendation to wear gloves, to dispose of them after use in a possible infected area and to continually to wash hands.

[Varky]

I had a respiratory infection in 1990 and I spent 3/4 hour going in and out of a sauna and putting loads of water on the stones.
Next day I was fine and well again.
So heat can kill infections.

In some cases yes, but not in the case of Covid-10.

[Dominic]

You've completely missed the point Devil. They are talking about transmission of the virus from person to person.

To put it bluntly, the virus could withstand temperatures of 1000 degrees, but if it requires a snot droplet to pass from host to host, and that snot droplet dries out more quickly in hot weather (because duh, that's what they do), then the virus won't spread so easily.

[Mrblobby]

Well whatever we think, Covid is a respiratory virus of which I think both coughing and sneezing will spread these droplets. Thus wearing a mask is likely to protect the wearer from inhaling the virus via the droplets,.

Dee

[Dominic]

Yes but you can smell farts clear across a room. If Corona was like a fart we would need 20m exclusion zones.

[Jimgward]

The mask situation is clear. While no great evidence it will stop you catching `Covid, it will reduce it somewhat, however, if you are infected, then wearing a face covering of any kind will seriously cut down droplet blasts from speaking, coughing or sneezing, Therefore, covering your face will cut you infecting others by some 80%.
It’s has been shown, that shiny surfaces, like door handles, that can hold the virus for up to 2 or 3 days, when the temperature of the metal is >30 degrees, the virus is killed quicker. However, there is no evidence yet of seasonality or climate-related differences that can be scientifically proved. Partly, possibly, since there are at least 15 known variants of the virus and it could be that it slightly changes within a climate, to be more effective.

While sneezing isn’t one of the symptoms of Covid, people wont necessarily be limited to one thing wrong with them. Hay fever, or other illnesses for example, that could coincide.... Also, bear in mind that the majority are asymptomatic and might have other symptoms causing coughing and sneezing not related to covid, that could transmit the virus.

[WHL]

You've completely missed the point Devil. They are talking about transmission of the virus from person to person.

To put it bluntly, the virus could withstand temperatures of 1000 degrees, but if it requires a snot droplet to pass from host to host, and that snot droplet dries out more quickly in hot weather (because duh, that's what they do), then the virus won't spread so easily.

Thanks Dominic, finally in a laungage I can understand, good old plain English, if only more people gave out information like this.

[WHL]

Yes but you can smell farts clear across a room. If Corona was like a fart we would need 20m exclusion zones.

Or double thickness masks

[Jimgward]

This tweet was sent to me by my Anaesthetist colleague as proof of face coverings being beneficial.

[Dominic]

The trouble with the coverage about masks is that it doesn't acknowledge they have two uses:

1. Care workers. These people need masks primarily to protect them.
2. Normal people. These people wear masks to help stop spreading the virus.

For 1, it is important that masks are sanitised and used sensibly.
For 2, there is no reason why you can't reuse the same one over and over, or have three you use on daily rotation, made out of old socks, or, God Forbid, pants.

My wife made us masks. They weren't made out of pants, but still I get the sensation that they are in fact pants. However, they work in Lidl.

[WHL]

[Jimgward]

I thing a thong...

Seriously though. I am the only one in my supermarket ventures wearing a mask and it really annoys me the selfish bastards who don’t. (Excusé mon Francais)

Boris being his usual confusing self has left everyone in the UK not knowing what to do. He needs to say categorically, that people need to wear a face covering. I would never take public transport at the moment. He is only not saying this as he hasn’t equipped the country to have any kinds of masks for sale. So he hides behind the ‘follow the science” shite.

We are now getting the split between the politicians and scientists as there has not been any transparency and now lies about the science. It’s all falling apart.