Covid-19 transmission likely decrease with temperature, humidity rise : Doctor

As the Covid-19 cases continue to rise, doctors asserted that taking precautions is indispensable to check the spread of the deadly virus.

While speaking to ANI, Dr. Manoj Kumar, Director and Unit Head - Cath Lab at Max Super Speciality Hospitals, said that although more research is needed but Covid-19 is expected to follow reduced transmission as the temperature and humidity increases.

He accepted that Covid-19 is a medical emergency; however, he asked people not to panic and instead guided citizens to keep following the advisories being issued by the medical authorities.

He said, "Citizens should not panic and follow advisories issued to them, social-distancing being the most important." He further said, "People having a travel history must go into a strict self-quarantine for 14 days as droplet transmission can infect several others."

On being asked if there are any medicines in the market for an effective cure, Dr. Kumar said that the research is still in progress and clinical trials have started, however, the best measure to contain the disease at present is through preventive actions.

Speaking about temperature sensitivity of virus strain, he added "although it is a general narrative that virus spread decreases under high humidity and temperature more than 38°C, more research is needed to ascertain the fact if Covid-19 follows the same path. However, we expect the transmission to decrease as the temperature and humidity rise."

Meantime, while speaking to ANI, Dr. Ashok Seth, Chairman of Fortis Escorts Heart Institute cited his apprehensions over the spread of Covid-19. He said, "If the spread shifts to the third stage of community transmission, it will be difficult for the Indian medical infrastructure to manage the number of cases." He added that breaking social contact with others will remain key to limit the spread of the deadly virus and staying at home will be beneficial during this time.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the total number of positive cases of Covid-19 in India stands at 341 with five deaths in the country.