DURBAN - A study in Canada has found that temperature has no clear impact on the coronavirus.
The University of Toronto in Canada, had studied all 144 geopolitical areas worldwide in which 10 or more cases of COVID-19 were documented by March 20.
Published on Thursday in the Canadian Medical Association, the study found almost no links to epidemic growth based on latitude and temperature. However, it was found that restrictions on mass gatherings and social distancing directly impact the spread of the novel coronavirus.
“In our study, only public health interventions were consistently associated with reduced epidemic growth, and the greater the number of co-occurring public health interventions, the larger the reduction in growth,” the researchers wrote.
Chief author, Dr Peter Junie stated that he knows, “everybody hopes for seasonality.”
“Our results are of immediate relevance, as many countries, and some Canadian provinces and territories, are considering easing or removing some of these public health interventions,” Juni said in a press release. “The virus doesn’t need favorable conditions to spread.”
While most people are still hopeful on the premise that the weather may slow the spread of the virus, the study suggests otherwise.
Professor Dionne Gesink, an epidemiologist from the University of Toronto and a co-author of the study, stated in the press release: “Summer is not going to make this go away. It’s important people know that. On the other hand, the more public health interventions an area had in place, the bigger the impact on slowing the epidemic growth.”
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