Effective transmission across the globe: the role of climate in COVID-19 mitigation strategies

Type Journal Article Author Kathleen M O’Reilly Author Megan Auzenbergs Author Yalda Jafari Author Yang Liu Author Stefan Flasche Author Rachel Lowe URL https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lanplh/PIIS2542-5196(20)30106-6.pdf Rights Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license. Series The Lancet Correspondence Volume 4 Publication The Lancet Planetary Health Date 06/05/2020 DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/ S2542-5196(20)30106-6 Abstract Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been declared a pandemic by WHO, owing to its rapid global spread and alarming ability to quickly overwhelm health-care services as a result of patients requiring critical care. A pertinent question for COVID-19 mitigation strategies is whether the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus is less transmissible in hot and humid climates. Sajadi and colleagues found that regions with established community outbreaks had a lower mean temperature and specific humidity compared with areas that did not report substantial community transmission.