Could UV light help to fight the spread of coronavirus?
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Get all the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to your inbox. Sign up here.
Researchers are exploring whether a certain type of UV light could curb person-to-person transmission of coronavirus. In a world that's trying to reimagine large public spaces, this work could prove extremly useful.
Fred Maxik is a former NASA scientist and the founder and chief scientific officer of Healthe, a company that has produced what it claims is the first-ever human-safe Far-UVC technology to battle coronavirus.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
“We’ve known for decades that UV light is a powerful disinfectant, but prior products were not safe for human exposure," Maxik said in a statement. "Our products utilize a specific wavelength of Far-UVC light that is similarly effective in killing viruses and bacteria but does not harm humans because it cannot penetrate our skin or eyes. It represents a new light that we can live with, not one we need to run from.”
A recent Columbia University study found that Far-UVC's narrow band of wavelengths is short enough to not damage human cells but can still kill small viruses and bacteria on various surfaces and in the air.
VITAMIN D LEVELS MAY IMPACT COVID-19 MORTALITY RATES, STUDY CLAIMS
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
The technology could be deployed in places where healthcare providers tend to the sick -- along with other public spaces such as mass transit hubs.
For example, Far-UVC light could radiate from doorways and decontaminate the hair, skin and clothes of those entering a building, whether they know they’re carrying the virus or not.
"The interest in what we’ve done has expanded to office environment, retail environment, transportation environment – there’s a lot of interest in seeing how we can utilize this type of light in ways that will help us approach this new normal,” he told Boston 25 News.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Healthe has begun to ship its "cleanse portals" and other devices used to kill bacteria to several companies in the U.S.
REPORT ON FACE MASKS' EFFECTIVENESS FOR COVID-19 DIVIDES SCIENTISTS
As of Thursday afternoon, the coronavirus has infected 1,250,805 people and killed at least 75,423 in the United States.