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I found this paper (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2863430/) which says these corona virus strains live for months at 4 degrees C, 20% relative humidity. But at 40 degrees C and 80% relative humidity, 90% of it dies in 2 hours.

For example, if people set the furnace to 40 degrees and humidifier to 80% relative humidity for a couple hours each day, does this stop the spread of the virus?

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    $\begingroup$ 1) There's a lot of outdoors, in which many people spend a good deal of their time. 2) The virus exists inside people, where the temperature is fairly well regulated. As soon as the external temperature is decreased, the virus they shed will survive. 3) If 90% is killed, 10% will survive. The 10% will presumably reproduce, passing along whatever characteristic made them more tolerent of higher temperatures. $\endgroup$
    – jamesqf
    Commented Feb 20, 2020 at 18:25
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    $\begingroup$ Hi Mark, and welcome to Biology SE. Your question is very similar, but not syntactically a duplicate of this question/answer. $\endgroup$
    – not2qubit
    Commented Feb 22, 2020 at 19:28
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    $\begingroup$ Your proposal is still interesting, because based on that, one may speculate if it would be possible to artificially induce a fever to 40°C in a controlled manner such that it would weaken the virus in most of the body. $\endgroup$
    – not2qubit
    Commented Feb 22, 2020 at 19:34
  • $\begingroup$ SE Biology is concerned with the mechanisms of biological processes, and questions are generally answered by people with biological rather than medical or epidemiological expertise. It is possible, therefore, that some questions about coronaviruses relating to the recent 2019-nCoV outbreak may not receive a satisfactory answer. You may therefore wish to consult this list of reputable external sources of such information. $\endgroup$
    – David
    Commented Feb 22, 2020 at 22:44
  • $\begingroup$ It's probably easier/more efficient to use standard cleaning/disinfection practices on surfaces ... COVID-19 (as far as we know) isn't hanging around in airborne particles. $\endgroup$
    – Ben Bolker
    Commented Mar 8, 2020 at 22:31

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