Data

DHS S&T performed laboratory studies to estimate the stability of SARS-CoV-2 in aerosols representative of respiratory particles produced during breathing, talking or coughing across a range of environmental conditions. It was determined that environmental conditions, in particular simulated sunlight, greatly affected how long virus would remain stable in the air. The Probabilistic Analysis of National Threats, Hazards and Risks (PANTHR) program developed an interactive tool based on these data that allows users to estimate how long SARS-CoV-2 would remain stable in aerosols across environmental conditions including temperature, relative humidity and UV index. Users can use the tool to estimate the decay rate for SARS-CoV-2 in aerosols by selecting temperature, relative humidity and UV index information for a location of interest. This tool can help users better understand the effect of environmental conditions on aerosols containing SARS-CoV-2.