There’s only one type of UV that can reliably inactivate Covid-19 – and it’s extremely dangerous.
Both UVA and UVB damage the skin — but nothing is as damaging as UVC (Credit: Getty Images)
Though there hasn’t been any research looking at how UVC affects Covid-19 specifically, studies have shown that it can be used against other coronaviruses, such as Sars. The radiation warps the structure of their genetic material and prevents the viral particles from making more copies of themselves. As a result, a concentrated form of UVC is now on the front line in the fight against Covid-19.
A bus is disinfected using UVC in Shanghai, China (Credit: Getty Images)
Scientists have found that flu cases in Brazil tend to go up during the burning season, when smoke dilutes UV (Credit: Getty Images)