Habeebullah TM, Abd El-Rahim IHA, Morsy EA. Impact of outdoor and indoor meteorological conditions on the COVID-19 transmission in the western region of Saudi Arabia.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2021;
288:112392. [PMID:
33765578 PMCID:
PMC7980220 DOI:
10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112392]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2020] [Revised: 03/07/2021] [Accepted: 03/07/2021] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Meteorological conditions may influence the incidence of many infectious diseases. Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is a highly contagious, air-borne, emerging, viral disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). In 2020, the COVID-19 global pandemic affected more than 210 countries and territories worldwide including Saudi Arabia. There are contradictory research papers about the correlation between meteorological parameters and incidence of COVID-19 in some countries worldwide. The current study investigates the impact of outdoor and indoor meteorological conditions on the daily recorded COVID-19 cases in western region (Makkah and Madinah cities) of Saudi Arabia over a period of 8 months from March to October 2020. Reports of the daily confirmed COVID-19 cases from the webpage of Saudi Ministry of Health (MOH) were used. Considering, the incubation period of COVID-19 which ranged from 2 to 14 days, the relationships between daily COVID-19 cases and outdoor meteorological factors (temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed) using a lag time of 10 days are investigated. The results showed that the highest daily COVID-19 cases in Makkah and Madinah were reported during the hottest months of the year (April-July 2020) when outdoor temperature ranged from 26.51 to 40.71 °C in Makkah and of 23.89-41.20 °C in Madinah, respectively. Partial negative correlation was detected between outdoor relative humidity and daily recorded COVID-19 cases. No obvious correlation could be demonstrated between wind speed and daily COVID-19 cases. This indicated that most of SARS-CoV-2 infection occurred in the cool, air-conditioned, dry, and bad-ventilated indoor environment in the investigated cities. These results will help the epidemiologists to understand the correlation between both outdoor and indoor meteorological conditions and SARS-CoV-2 transmissibility. These findings would be also a useful supplement to assist the local healthcare policymakers to implement and apply a specific preventive measures and education programs for controlling of COVID-19 transmission.
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