Department of Environmental and Health Research, Umm Al-Qura University, P.O. Box 6287, 21955, Makkah Al-Mukaramah, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Environmental and Health Research, Umm Al-Qura University, P.O. Box 6287, 21955, Makkah Al-Mukaramah, Saudi Arabia; Infectious Diseases, Department of Animal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Assiut University, 71526, Assiut, Egypt.
J Environ Manage. 2021 Jun 15;288:112392. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112392. Epub 2021 Mar 20.
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.
气象条件可能会影响许多传染病的发病率。2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）是一种由严重急性呼吸系统综合征冠状病毒 2（SARS-CoV-2）引起的高传染性、空气传播、新兴的病毒性疾病。2020 年，COVID-19 全球大流行影响了包括沙特阿拉伯在内的全球 210 多个国家和地区。关于气象参数与一些国家 COVID-19 发病率之间的相关性，存在相互矛盾的研究论文。本研究调查了 2020 年 3 月至 10 月期间 8 个月内，沙特阿拉伯西部地区（麦加和麦地那市）室外和室内气象条件对每日记录的 COVID-19 病例的影响。使用沙特卫生部（MOH）网页上报告的每日确诊 COVID-19 病例。考虑到 COVID-19 的潜伏期为 2 至 14 天，使用 10 天的滞后时间调查了每日 COVID-19 病例与室外气象因素（温度、相对湿度和风速）之间的关系。结果表明，麦加和麦地那的每日 COVID-19 病例最高是在一年中最热的几个月（2020 年 4 月至 7 月）报告的，当时麦加的室外温度范围为 26.51 至 40.71°C，麦地那为 23.89 至 41.20°C。室外相对湿度与每日记录的 COVID-19 病例之间检测到部分负相关。风速与每日 COVID-19 病例之间没有明显的相关性。这表明，在调查的城市中，大多数 SARS-CoV-2 感染发生在凉爽、空调、干燥和通风不良的室内环境中。这些结果将帮助流行病学家了解室外和室内气象条件与 SARS-CoV-2 传播能力之间的相关性。这些发现还将是一个有用的补充，以协助当地医疗保健政策制定者实施和应用特定的预防措施和教育计划，以控制 COVID-19 的传播。
