President Trump on Friday repeated the theory that the novel coronavirus will die out as temperatures rise in the spring, but scientists insist it’s just too soon to say for sure.
Infectious disease experts studying the virus say it may have a seasonal variation, or it may not. Several tell CNN it’s too early to tell, and nobody knows enough about the novel coronavirus to make assessments about its behavior.
“There’s a theory that in April, when it gets warm, historically, that has been able to kill the virus. So, we don’t know yet. We’re not sure yet. But that’s around the corner, so that will be a great thing in China and other places,” Trump said at a Border Patrol event at the White House.
CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield told CNN in an interview, which aired Thursday, that the coronavirus may or may not be around past this year and it may or may not follow a seasonal variation — insisting only time will tell.
“We don’t know a lot about this virus,” he said. “This virus is probably with us beyond this season, beyond this year, and I think eventually the virus will find a foothold and we will get community-based transmission.”
Trump also estimated that there were “around 12” confirmed cases of novel coronavirus in the US. As of Friday, 15 individuals tested by the CDC tested positive for the coronavirus.