Pattaya-Pong Subdistrict sprayed local streets with a mist of disinfectant to boost the morale of residents even if it does little to stop the spread of Covid-19.
Mayor Pranem Siriroop and workers from the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation and regulatory enforcement officers rode along as the OCR Co. truck blasted out 10,000 liters of water mist mixed with disinfectant.
The 30-meter-high cloud spread about 100-meters from the road, largely evaporating, but with residual water landing on surfaces like roads and walls.
Pranem said the spraying made residents feel better that local officials were doing something to combat the coronavirus’ spread. But experts say the disinfectant trucks are mostly useless.
The coronavirus is spread principally through droplets breathed out by people that are too heavy to remain airborne for long, especially outside. And even if lighter aerosolized virus were present, it would evaporate long before the spray trucks rolled through the city at night.
While laboratory tests have shown the virus can be spread on surfaces, the virus would not survive long outside in sunlight and the buildup of organic matter on outside surfaces quicky renders any disinfectant inert, even more so with alcohol, which quickly evaporates.
