COVID-19 Particles Remain 'Intact' After 100 Needle Stabs and 90-Degree Heat Exposure

Structure of the coronavirus.
Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Joo-hee] A study has found that novel coronavirus (COVID-19) particles do not easily die even when subjected to strong external shocks. COVID-19 particles were shown to neither deform nor be destroyed even after being stabbed 100 times with a needle or exposed to heat above 90 degrees Celsius.

On the 20th, according to the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP), researchers from Semmelweis University in Hungary published these findings on the peer-reviewed preprint site bioRxiv (biorxiv.org) on the 17th.

The researchers conducted experiments to determine how much force is needed to burst COVID-19 particles like a balloon.

The results showed that even after being stabbed 100 times with a fine needle, the COVID-19 particles only slightly deformed but returned to their original shape. The researchers stated that COVID-19 particles are remarkably elastic.

The researchers also applied heat of 90 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes to the COVID-19 particles, but the circular shape changed only very slightly, maintaining an almost intact overall structure. This appears to be related to the fact that, contrary to expectations that COVID-19 would disappear as the weather gets warmer, the virus continues to spread during summer.

The researchers explained that COVID-19 may have the highest elasticity among known viruses so far, and this self-healing ability indicates that the virus can adapt widely to various different environments.