In a statement late Friday, Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman renewed her call for the city's economy to reopen, saying she guesses the “desert heat” will “deter [COVID-19's] ferocity.”
Said Goodman: “Although, it has not been clearly determined as to the effect that extreme warmth will have on the virus, it is assumed that it will deter its ferocity. We certainly are looking forward to having our desert heat provide that required substantiation.”
Added Goodman: “Las Vegans are smart and courageous. We need to act first…and we will. What I ask is that our brothers and sisters throughout America, the governments in both Carson City and Washington, D.C. and our healthy and vibrant free press show us both love and support as we, judiciously, reopen America's city…for the wellbeing of us all.”
Goodman appeared on several news programs during the week calling for the city to reopen, among them Anderson Cooper's AC360, where Anderson balked when she called him an “alarmist” for calling out her plan to invite people from all over the world to hang out in crowded casinos.
The Hill adds: “Her argument that heat will help stop the spread of coronavirus comes a day after officials at the White House coronavirus task force briefing presented the results of a study that showed the virus deteriorates more quickly when subjected to higher temperatures and humidity. However, the finding quickly drew skepticism from other experts on social media and cable television given outbreaks in a number of places with warm climates, such as Singapore and Brazil. A study by French researchers earlier this month also found that the virus was able to survive in 140-degree Fahrenheit temperatures typically used to disinfect research labs. A National Academies of Sciences panel also warned the White House in early April that summer weather was unlikely to significantly slow the spread of the virus, as was initially believed.”
