Immune To COVID? New Study Suggests Why

Warmer temperatures may make for more pleasant days, but no one should assume hotter weather will mean the end of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the top U.S. infectious disease expert and a group of prominent scientists.

In a letter to the White House, members of a National Academy of Sciences committee said because so few people are immune to the new coronavirus, any advantage warmer weather provides may not matter.

"There is some evidence to suggest that SARS-CoV-2 may transmit less efficiently in environments with higher ambient temperature and humidity; However, given the lack of host immunity globally, this reduction in transmission efficiency may not lead to a significant reduction in disease spread without the concomitant adoption of major public health interventions," according to the letter.

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The letter also said that although countries like Australia, which is in its summer season, are "experiencing rapid virus spread, a decrease in cases with increases in humidity and temperature elsewhere should not be assumed."

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, echoed that advice on ABC’s "Good Morning America."

He said there is precedent with other infections like influenza that "when the (weather) gets warmer that the virus goes down in its ability to replicate, to spread."

But he added, "Having said that, one should not assume that we are going to be rescued by a change in the weather. You must assume that the virus will continue to do its thing. If we get some help from the weather, so be it, fine. But I don’t think we need to assume that."

In all, there were more than 461,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. as of Thursday evening, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. More than 16,000 people have died and some 25,000 have recovered.

Worldwide, at least 1.5 million people have been stricken and more than 95,000 have died. About 353,000 have recovered.

Latest Developments

United States:

-Louisiana State Rep. Reggie Bagala, 54, died Thursday after a battle with COVID-19, Nola.com reported.

-Michigan extended its stay at home order through April, and prohibited big-box stores from selling anything other than essential goods like food and medicine. The state has reported at least 20,346 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 959 deaths. "Michigan has the third highest number of COVID-19 cases in the country, and we’re still on the upswing," Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said. "We must continue to do everything we can to slow the spread and protect our families."

-The Federal Emergency Management Agency says it has allocated $4.7 billion to the fight against the coronavirus, including $1.2 billion for New York, which now has more than 160,000 thousand confirmed cases of COVID-19.

-The American Heart Association has issued interim guidelines for helping cardiac arrest patients during the coronavirus pandemic. Lay rescuers should perform at least hands-only CPR if they are willing and able, especially if they live in the same household as the victim, according to the guidelines published in Circulation, the association's journal. The guidelines suggest a face mask or cloth covering the mouth and nose of the rescuer and/or the victim may reduce the risk of transmission to a non-household bystander.

-At least 6.6 million workers applied for unemployment benefits last week, according to figures released Thursday. That was on top of more than 10 million in the two weeks before that. The U.S. unemployment rate could hit 15% – a number last seen at the tail end of the Great Depression – when the figures for April come out.

-The new coronavirus began to circulate in the New York area by mid-February, weeks before the first confirmed case, and travelers brought in the virus mainly from Europe, not Asia, according to new research. "The majority is clearly European," Harm van Bakel, a geneticist at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, who co-wrote a study awaiting peer review, told the New York Times. A separate team at NYU's Grossman School of Medicine reached similar conclusions from a different group of cases.

-A member of the crew of the USS Theodore Roosevelt who tested positive for coronavirus on March 30 was admitted to the intensive care unit at U.S. Naval Hospital Guam. The aircraft carrier has been docked at Guam since March 27 with a coronavirus outbreak that has sidelined the warship and infected 416 members of its 4,860-member crew.

-In addition to the Teddy Roosevelt, the USS Ronald Reagan has 15 positive cases of the coronavirus, the Navy said. The carrier is currently in Yokosuka, Japan, for maintenance. Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Hyten also said there is a "small outbreak" of coronavirus on the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz.

-Pennsylvania schools will remain closed for the remainder of the 2019-20 academic year, Gov. Tom Wolf announced. Missouri Gov. Mike Parson also ordered schools in his state to remain closed.

Worldwide:

-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was moved from intensive care back to the ward, where he will receive close monitoring during the early phase of his recovery, a statement from his office said. “He is in extremely good spirits,” the statement added.

-Poland extended its nationwide isolation until April 26. It will keep the borders and schools closed, banning international flights and railway connections.

-Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo banned all civil servants, police officers, military personnel and employees of state-owned companies from returning to their hometowns to celebrate the end of Ramadan with families in an attempt to curb the coronavirus spread. Indonesia has more Muslims than any other country in the world. Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, is expected to fall on May 24.

-The anti-poverty campaigning group Oxfam warned that half a billion people in the developing world could be pushed into poverty as a result of the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Oxfam is calling on world leaders to agree to an "Economic Rescue Package for All" to keep poor countries and communities afloat. Among the measures it is recommending is the immediate cancellation of $1 trillion worth of developing country debt payments in 2020.

For the latest coronavirus information in your county and a full list of important resources to help you make the smartest decisions regarding the disease, check out our dedicated COVID-19 page.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.