Impact of Meteorological Parameters on the COVID-19 Incidence: The Case of the City of Oran, Algeria

Farid Rahal,Fatima Zohra Baba Hamed,Salima Rezak

doi:10.29333/jcei/9562

Abstract

The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the major countries of the world has become a serious threat to the health of all human beings. A better understanding of the effective parameters in infection spreading can bring about a logical measurement toward COVID-19. Among these parameters, we find the climatic factors that can play an important role in the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic. We have studied this phenomenon in the city of Oran in Algeria, which experienced its first case of COVID-19 on March 19, 2020. In this study, the main parameters, including the number of infected people with COVID-19, the average, minimum and maximum temperatures, the relative humidity rate and the wind intensity. A first analysis of the data with a Spearman rank correlation test did not yield significant results. Taking into account the average incubation period to adjust the data made it possible, during a second analysis, to show that the minimum temperature is significantly correlated with the new cases of COVID-19 in Oran city, but further studies over longer periods with additional parameters are needed to better understand this matter.

Highlights

Millions of people have been put on lockdown in order to reduce the transmission of the COVID-19
We find the climatic factors that can play an important role in the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic
We have studied this phenomenon in the city of Oran in Algeria, which experienced its first case of COVID-19 on March 19, 2020

Summary

Introduction

Millions of people have been put on lockdown in order to reduce the transmission of the COVID-19. This epidemic has changed the people's life style; caused extensive job losses and threatened the sustenance of millions of people, as businesses have shut down to control the spread of virus [1]. Many research works have been carried out on this field [3, 4, 5, 6] since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the COVID-19 pandemic is a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), on January 30, 2020. Like other countries in the world, has not escaped this COVID-19 pandemic. In order to limit exposure to the virus, partial containment measures were imposed on some cities that reported the highest number of contaminated cases. More and more people are invited to isolate themselves or to quarantine themselves, they only leave their homes to buy essential items such as food and medicines [8]

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