New Cases Of COVID-19 Research Articles

COVID-19 Contact Tracing and Detection-Based on Blockchain Technology

The fight against the COVID-19 pandemic still involves many struggles and challenges. The greatest challenge that most governments are currently facing is the lack of a precise, accurate, and automated mechanism for detecting and tracking new COVID-19 cases. In response to this challenge, this study proposes the first blockchain-based system, called the COVID-19 contact tracing system (CCTS), to verify, track, and detect new cases of COVID-19. The proposed system consists of four integrated components: an infection verifier subsystem, a mass surveillance subsystem, a P2P mobile application, and a blockchain platform for managing all transactions between the three subsystem models. To investigate the performance of the proposed system, CCTS has been simulated and tested against a created dataset consisting of 300 confirmed cases and 2539 contacts. Based on the metrics of the confusion matrix (i.e., recall, precision, accuracy, and F1 Score), the detection evaluation results proved that the proposed blockchain-based system achieved an average of accuracy of 75.79% and a false discovery rate (FDR) of 0.004 in recognizing persons in contact with COVID-19 patients within two different areas of infection covered by GPS. Moreover, the simulation results also demonstrated the success of the proposed system in performing self-estimation of infection probabilities and sending and receiving infection alerts in P2P communications in crowds of people by users. The infection probability results have been calculated using the binomial distribution function technique. This result can be considered unique compared with other similar systems in the literature. The new system could support governments, health authorities, and citizens in making critical decisions regarding infection detection, prediction, tracking, and avoiding the COVID-19 outbreak. Moreover, the functionality of the proposed CCTS can be adapted to work against any other similar pandemics in the future.

Effects of temperature and relative humidity on the COVID-19 pandemic in different climates: a study across some regions in Algeria (North Africa).

After more than a year from the first confirmed cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) disease, the role of meteorological factors in the transmission of the virus still needs to be correctly determined. In this scenario of deep uncertainty, the present study aims to investigate the effects of temperature and relative humidity on daily new cases of COVID-19. For this purpose, the COVID-19’s development of infection in fourteen Algerian cities characterized by different climatic conditions, during the period from April 1, 2020, to August 31, 2020, has been investigated. A detailed time series analysis along with linear regression was used to state a possible correlation among some climate’s factor variability (temperature and relative humidity) and daily new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The results showed a weak correlation between daily new cases of COVID-19 and meteorological factors throughout the selected regions. In addition, we concluded that the COVID-19 could fit to high or low values of temperature and relative humidity, and other factors not climates could affect the spreading of the virus like demography and human contact. So, after the discovery of the vaccine and before vaccination of 70% of the world’s population, living with the virus has become an inevitable reality, and it is mandatory to apply the sanitary procedures to slow down the COVID-19 transmission.Graphical abstract

The UK government’s covid complacency shows lessons haven’t been learned

This week, England’s health secretary, Sajid Javid told a Downing Street covid briefing that the government would not “at this point” be implementing its so-called “Plan B” measures to prevent...

When in doubt, Google it: distress-related information seeking in Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic

BackgroundPsychological health has been one of the aspects affected by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. We aim to evaluate the patterns of Google search for mental distress symptoms of Italian citizens during the various phases of the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsWe assessed Google searches for psychological-health related words. We gathered and analyzed data on daily search queries on depression, anxiety, and insomnia from Google Trends, in a time ranging from the Pre-COVID phase (beginning 25th January 2020) up to the second wave phase (ending 17th October 2020). We performed three general linear models on search trends of the three words and tested whether and to what extent official data about new cases of COVID-19, information searching on new cases, and the government health measures impacted on these trends.ResultsAverage daily search queries were higher for anxiety, followed by depression and insomnia. General linear models performed to assess differences in daily search queries for anxiety, depression and insomnia were significant, respectively [F(13, 253) = 6.80, P < .001]; [F(13, 253) = 10.25, P < .001]; [F(13, 253) = 6.61, P < .001].Specifically, daily search queries differed among different phases of managing the COVID-19 outbreak: anxiety [F(5, 253) = 10.35, P < .001, {n}_p^2 = .17]; depression [F(5, 253) = 13.59, P < .001, {n}_p^2 = .21]; insomnia [F(5, 253) = 3.52, P = .004, {n}_p^2 = .07].ConclusionsOur study contributed to the investigation of online information-seeking behaviors of Italians regarding mental health throughout the entire phase of the pandemic and provides insights on the possible future trends of mental distress during upcoming pandemic phases.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on violence against women: an environmental study from Turkey

Abstract Background Numerous reports suggest that COVID-19 escalated domestic violence globally. Turkish Medical Association and various non-governmental organizations drew attention to the increased violence against women however there is no study in the literature which shows the changes in domestic violence by nationwide data from Turkey. This study aims to investigate the possible association between violence against women and dynamics of the pandemic. Methods The official website of Turkish Ministry of Health (TMH) was used to maintain the data for weekly number of deaths and new cases of COVID-19 from April 5th 2020 to April 5th 2021. Most updated and accurate reporting of new COVID-19 cases which TMH started to share after November 25th 2020 was chosen for this study. KADES is a smartphone application for women to seek emergency help in case of a domestic violence and created by Turkish Ministry of Internal Affairs in 2018. Weekly use of the terms ‘KADES' and ‘KADES indir' (tr. download KADES) in Turkey were obtained from Google Trends (April 5th 2020- April 5th 2021). Spearman correlation analysis was used to evaluate the possible associations. Results There were moderate-strong correlations between KADES searches and new COVID-19 cases (ρ = 0.692, p-value= 0.001) and deaths from COVID-19 (ρ = 0.521, p-value= 0.000). Strong correlations were found for the association between ‘download KADES' searches and new COVID-19 cases (ρ = 0.640, p-value= 0.003) and deaths from COVID-19 (ρ = 0.629, p-value= 0.000). Conclusions During pandemic, Turkish government tightened COVID-19 restrictions when there was a major incline in the outbreak curve. The results of this study suggest the possibility of increased violence against women in those times. Recently, Turkey pulled out from Istanbul Convention which is a comprehensive legal framework about violence against women. Policy makers should urgently turn back from this decision and provide the safety of the women in Turkey. Key messages Findings of this study suggest a possible increased help-seeking behavior regarding violence among Turkish women during COVID-19 restrictions. Urgent legislations and suitable practices are needed for preventing and combating violence against women during pandemics.

Occupational Characteristics in the Outbreak of the COVID-19 Delta Variant in Nanjing, China: Rethinking the Occupational Health and Safety Vulnerability of Essential Workers.

The risk of contracting COVID-19 varies by occupation. Clarifying the occupational disparity in the infection risk is crucial to the prevention and control of the epidemic in the workplace. In late July, some new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed among cleaners working in Lukou International Airport in Nanjing, China. The infected cases rapidly increased and spread to many domestic cities in the following days. The present study traces the brief reports of epidemiological investigations among the confirmed cases released by the Nanjing government from 20 July to 2 August, and offers a descriptive analysis on the occupational distribution of these cases. Cleaners and other staff working in the airport were found to make up more than 40% of all cases. The overwhelming majority of the cleaner cases were confirmed in the first 7 days. The present study statistically ascertains that the airport cleaners were the initial sufferers and transmitters in this outbreak. They experienced occupational health and safety vulnerability on both individual and contextual levels, including workplace hazards, workplace safety policies, and lack of awareness and empowerment. Effective protection for essential workers and the strict surveillance of occupational health in the workplace is urgently needed.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on a developing STEMI care system from a low-middle income country- a prospective observational study

Abstract Background COVID-19 pandemic has produced a great impact in the STEMI (ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction) care systems across the world. Patient hesitancy to seek medical attention for suspected STEMI, necessity of the health care systems to prioritize COVID-19 care, safety concerns of health care workers etc., have brought in unprecedented times for both patients and health care workers. The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the establishment of a STEMI care system is less known Purpose To identify the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on a developing public STEMI care system in a low-middle income country in Asia, with reference to the type of reperfusion offered and outcome. Methods Data on number of STEMI admissions, type of reperfusion therapy and outcome are being collected from 12 teaching hospitals as a part of a developing public regional STEMI care system based on a hub and spoke model in a low middle-income country from August 2018. These 12 “thrombolysis only” hospitals were being upgraded as “primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) capable hub hospitals” in 2019. Though the hassles of COVID-19 pandemic affected this process significantly, daily data collection in our STEMI care system continued. The maximal COVID impacted period in 2020 was identified from the online database (1) as from April to December 2020. The number, type of reperfusion and outcome of the STEMI patients treated during this period were compared to the same data collected during April-December 2019. Results A total of 13,137 STEMI patients were treated in our system during the two time periods “April to December 2019” and “April to December 2020”. There was a 13.3% drop in the number of STEMI treated in 2020, compared to the number treated in 2019 (6101 vs 8925; P&amp;lt;0.001). This drop was in proportion to the number of new cases of COVID-19 reported in our state (Fig. 1a) We also noted a significant drop in the rate of PPCI and Pharmaco-invasive therapy (PIT) offered for STEMI in 2020 compared to 2019 in the same period (PPCI: 0.13% vs 5.9%-P&amp;lt;0.001 and PIT 0.64% vs 11%- P&amp;lt;0.001). This decrease in PPCI and PIT for STEMI also corresponded to the increase in number of new cases of COVID-19 reported (Fig. 1b). More patients received thrombolytic therapy for STEMI in 2020 compared to 2019 (73.6 vs 61.2% P&amp;lt;0.001). There was no change in the mortality of STEMI during this period. (Fig. 2) Conclusion We found a significant drop in number of patients seeking medical care for STEMI during COVID-19 pandemic. There was significant drop in the rate of PPCI and PIT offered in our STEMI care system. Thrombolytic therapy remained the predominant mode of reperfusion as before, but with a significant increased rate of thrombolysis. There was no change in mortality rate in STEMI patients. Thrombolytic therapy is an acceptable mode of reperfusion, when the balance of a STEMI care system is disturbed by extraneous influences like the COVID-19 pandemic. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: Public hospital(s). Main funding source(s): Tamil Nadu Innovation Initiative- Department of Planning and development, Govt of Tamil NaduNational Health Mission, Government of India

Antiviral and antiretroviral drug shortages amidst COVID-19: How Africa is struggling.

Antiviral drugs are of paramount importance in the accomplishment of the vision of zero new cases of COVID-19 globally, through sustainable retaliation against viral diseases. However, several challenges currently exist in Africa which include insufficient infrastructure, deteriorating health systems, and rising costs of healthcare delivery with concomitant rising inequity with regards to access to health services amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic itself has stimulated an increased use of phytotherapy in Africa as a result of essential drug shortages that have been attributed to a plethora of contributing factors such as travel restrictions, reduced per capita income as well as increased expenditure on transport. As a result, the paucity of antiviral along with antiretroviral drugs used to combat COVID-19 as well as several other endemic viral diseases in Africa has created a worrisome state. This article therefore discusses and aims to underscore the causes, effects, and implications of antiviral and antiretroviral shortages amid COVID-19 in Africa.

A new regression model for the forecasting of COVID-19 outbreak evolution: an application to Italian data

The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 was first identified in China in December 2019. In just over five months, the virus affected over 4 million people and caused about 300,000 deaths. This study aimed to model new COVID-19 cases in Italian regions using a new curve. A new empirical curve is proposed to model the number of new cases of COVID-19. It resembles a known exponential growth curve, which has a straight line as an exponent, but in the growth curve proposed, the exponent is a logistic curve multiplied for a straight line. This curve shows an initial phase, the expected exponential growth, then rises to the maximum value and finally reaches zero. We characterized the epidemic growth patterns for the entire Italian nation and each of the 20 Italian regions. The estimated growth curve has been used to calculate the expected time of the beginning, the time related to peak, and the end of the epidemics. Our analysis explores the development of the outbreaks in Italy and the impact of the containment measures. Data obtained are useful to forecast future scenarios and the possible end of the epidemic.

The trajectory of COVID-19 pandemic and handwashing adherence: findings from 14 countries

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has affected people’s engagement in health behaviors, especially those that protect individuals from SARS-CoV-2 transmission, such as handwashing/sanitizing. This study investigated whether adherence to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) handwashing guidelines (the outcome variable) was associated with the trajectory of the COVID-19 pandemic, as measured by the following 6 indicators: (i) the number of new cases of COVID-19 morbidity/mortality (a country-level mean calculated for the 14 days prior to data collection), (ii) total cases of COVID-19 morbidity/mortality accumulated since the onset of the pandemic, and (iii) changes in recent cases of COVID-19 morbidity/mortality (a difference between country-level COVID-19 morbidity/mortality in the previous 14 days compared to cases recorded 14–28 days earlier).MethodsThe observational study (#NCT04367337) enrolled 6064 adults residing in Australia, Canada, China, France, Gambia, Germany, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, and Switzerland. Data on handwashing adherence across 8 situations (indicated in the WHO guidelines) were collected via an online survey (March–July 2020). Individual-level handwashing data were matched with the date- and country-specific values of the 6 indices of the trajectory of COVID-19 pandemic, obtained from the WHO daily reports.ResultsMultilevel regression models indicated a negative association between both accumulation of the total cases of COVID-19 morbidity (B = −.041, SE = .013, p = .013) and mortality (B = −.036, SE = .014 p = .002) and handwashing. Higher levels of total COVID-related morbidity and mortality were related to lower handwashing adherence. However, increases in recent cases of COVID-19 morbidity (B = .014, SE = .007, p = .035) and mortality (B = .022, SE = .009, p = .015) were associated with higher levels of handwashing adherence. Analyses controlled for participants’ COVID-19-related situation (their exposure to information about handwashing, being a healthcare professional), sociodemographic characteristics (gender, age, marital status), and country-level variables (strictness of containment and health policies, human development index). The models explained 14–20% of the variance in handwashing adherence.ConclusionsTo better explain levels of protective behaviors such as handwashing, future research should account for indicators of the trajectory of the COVID-19 pandemic.Trial registrationClinical Trials.Gov, #NCT04367337

Sex Ed Lessons from COVID-19

In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States was brought to a virtual standstill. National, state, and local governments, as well as the private sector, took stark measures to stem new cases of COVID-19 and “flatten the curve.” Among these measures were the closure of in-person classes at schools and universities and reduced access to in-person health care services. During the summer of 2020, the authors conducted an open-ended online survey with a convenience sample of sexuality educators, asking about their professional experiences in teaching sexuality education during the height of the pandemic. This article summarizes eight major themes that surfaced from a systematic analysis of the survey data and the authors’ commentary and lists of tips for teaching sexuality education virtually. Despite a multitude of challenges presented by the pandemic, sexuality educators found innovative ways to reach youth and adults with information and skills needed to make healthy decisions about their sexual health, link them to services, and advocate on their behalf.

Pendampingan Persiapan Pembukaan Sekolah Tatap Muka Terbatas untuk Pencegahan Penularan Covid-19 di SDN 09 Simpang Tigo, Kecamatan Sungai Pua, Kabupaten Agam

Almost all communities around SDN 09 Simpang Tigo choose to do classroom learning for elementary school children. In fact, until April 7, 2021, Agam Regency was still in the orange zone (moderate risk) because there were still many new cases of COVID-19 in this area. From initial observations, many school residents have not implemented good and correct health protocols and increase the risk of spreading COVID-19. The purpose of this activity was to assess the readiness of schools to carry out limited classroom learning, increase school commitment in implementing health protocols, increase student knowledge about COVID-19, maintain a healthy environment, and train themselves to wash hands with soap and running water. The activity was carried out using the lecture method using media posters. Schools were provided with a handwashing system with a tread system. The activity results showed that schools had begun to implement health protocols but had not been maximized. After counseling, there was an increase in students' knowledge from 45.9% to 85.9%. Students had also been able to practice handwashing with soap properly. Students who were given counseling are expected to become motor drivers to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 in schools and living areas.

Death Anxiety in Hemodialysis Patients before and during the Outbreak of COVID-19: A Longitudinal Study

Objective: To study the occurrence of death anxiety among hemodialysis patients before and during COVID-19.Study Design: Longitudinal study.Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out from November 2019 to May 2020 at Pakistan KidneyPatients Association, Rawalpindi.Materials and Methods: Data was collected, with formal written consent,from hemodialysis patients, throughconvenient sampling technique in two phases. In phase I, pre COVID 19 pandemic period data of 110 subjectsand inphase II, COVID 19 pandemic era, data of 83 subjectswerecollected. Demographic variablesand deathanxiety scale were used for descriptive analysis.Results: The study results have shown that patients, in the pre pandemic period, had mild level of death anxiety,despite having comorbid chronic illnesses like diabetes mellitus, hypertension, depression and hepatitis.However, during COVID 19 pandemic death anxiety experienced among the participants, ranged between mildto severe level.Conclusion: The surge in new cases of COVID-19 and deaths, together with the barrage of information to whichpopulation is submitted through media, care takers and doctors has influenced the mentality of patients,resulting into variation in death anxiety among hemodialysis patients. It is concluded that occurrence of deathanxiety before and during COVID -19 influence the mental health of patients.

Primary care professionals\u2019 experiences during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Greece: a qualitative study

BackgroundThe coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) tested health care systems worldwide. This qualitative study aimed to explore and understand the experiences, beliefs and concerns of Primary Care Professionals (PCPs) regarding the preparedness and response of primary care to the first wave of the pandemic in Greece, a country where a public structured primary care system has been developing.MethodsWe conducted semi-structured telephone interviews with 33 PCPs (General Practitioners, community General Internal Medicine Specialists, community Paediatricians and nurses) recruited from all regions of Greece after the first wave of the pandemic (June 2020). Interviews were transcribed verbatim, data were anonymised and analysed. Thematic analysis was applied developing a conceptual framework.ResultsFour main themes were identified: a) Primary care unit adaptation and issues faced during the pandemic; b) Management of suspected COVID-19 cases; c) Management of non-suspected cases; d) Consequences of the pandemic. In the first phase of the pandemic, remote management of suspected cases and their referral to the hospital were preferred as a result of a shortage of personal protective equipment and inaccessibility to coronavirus testing in primary care. Due to the discontinuation of regular medical services and the limited in-person contact between doctors and patients, chronic disease management and prevention programmes were left behind. Social and emotional consequences of the pandemic, such as workplace stigma, isolation and social seclusion, deriving from fear of viral transmission, as well as burnout symptoms and exhaustion were commonly experienced among PCPs. Positive consequences of the pandemic were considered to be the recognition of the importance of an empowered public healthcare system by citizens and the valuable insight, knowledge and experience professionals gained in times of crisis.ConclusionsPrimary care has a key role to play during and after the pandemic by using its information infrastructure to identify at-risk groups, detect new cases of COVID-19, provide care according to needs, and carry out vaccination programmes. Central coordination and empowerment of primary care will increase its effectiveness, via public awareness, holistic patient management, and unburdening of hospitals.

Human mobility impacts on the surging incidence of COVID‐19 in India

Human mobility triggers how fast and where infectious diseases spread and modelling community flows helps assess the impact of social distancing policies and advance our understanding of community behaviour in such circumstances. This study investigated the relationship between human mobility and the surging incidence of COVID‐19 in India. We performed a generalised estimating equation with a Poisson log‐linear model to analyse the daily mobility rate and new cases of COVID‐19 between 14 March and 11 September 2020. We found that mobility to grocery and retail locations was significantly associated (p < 0.01) with the incidence of COVID‐19, these being crowded and unorganised in most parts of India. In contrast, visits to parks, workplaces, and transit stations did not considerably affect the changing COVID‐19 cases over time. In particular, workplaces equipped with social distancing protocols or low‐density open spaces are much less susceptible to the spread of the virus. These findings suggest that human mobility data, geographic information, and health geography modelling have significant potential to inform strategic decision‐making during pandemics because they provide actionable knowledge of when and where communities might be exposed to the disease.

Urban mobility and COVID-19 in Brazil: Comparison between 2020 and 2021.

The aim of this study was to analyze and compare the indicators of urban mobility and the number of new cases of COVID-19 recorded daily between 2020 and 2021. An observational study was carried out involving new cases of COVID-19 registered daily in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil between March 12, 2020 and March 28, 2021 and six indicators of urban mobility. For analysis, the study was divided into two periods: the first was composed of 295 days and represents the year 2020 and the second was composed of 86 days and represents the year 2021. Spearman's non-parametric correlation was used. In 2021, the greatest reductions in relation to the baseline were observed in parks (-29.0) and in retail and recreation areas (-28.7). However, these reductions were smaller than those observed in the previous year, indicating a greater circulation of people in 2021 when compared with mobility in 2020. In contrast, in residential areas, there was a reduction in the percentage change in relation to the previous year (11.2 in 2019 and 7.6 in 2021). In grocery and pharmacy, there was an increase 1.8 times greater than that observed in 2020 (9.1 in 2020 and 17.0 in 2021). It is also noteworthy that the daily average of new cases almost doubled in value (753.4 in 2020 and 1409.1 in 2021). More vigorous measures must be taken to adequately control the pandemic.

THE SPREAD OF COVID-19 OUTBREAK IN AFRICA: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BETWEEN NIGERIA AND NIGER REPUBLIC

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV2) outbreak has developed a major public health concern, particularly in northern hemisphere countries. The novel COVID-19 pandemic that broke out in 2019 presented obstacles to the scientific community and healthcare providers. The disparities across Africa highlight the value of assessment that go further than a continent- wide case number, which can distort the true situation on the ground. We wanted to look at epidemiology. In this review using data on confirmed cases and deaths, we attempt to assess the COVID-19 situation in Nigeria and Niger. We also contrasted the patterns of disease transmission and death. The main objective of this research is to address: How do the two countries relate in terms of COVID-19 distribution and mortality. The World Health Organization database, which updates data on the global number of confirmed cases and deaths for the Covid-19 pandemic on a regular basis, was used to get the reported numbers of cases and deaths between the two countries. A Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the average daily reported Covid-19 cases and death and annual cumulative cases and death between the two countries under study. Bivariate correlation analysis was conducted to assess the measure of direction and strength of association that exits between daily new cases and daily new death and also assess the same in terms of annual cumulative cases and death from 1 st April, 2020 to 31st March 2021. In Nigeria, the COVID19 spread pattern was similar to that of Niger. The daily deaths and cases distribution in Niger resembled those of Nigeria, so on daily basis in Niger they record 13.65 covid19 cases on average while Nigeria on average in daily basis they record 445.62 new cases of Covid-19. Then for the new death in Niger the average death on daily basis stand to be 0.50 compare to Nigeria on average which has 5.63 reported new death on daily basis. So for the bivariate correlation re

Trend and prediction of COVID-19 outbreak in Iran: SEIR and ANFIS model

Abstract Background: Mathematical and predictive modeling approaches can be used in COVID-19 crisis to forecast the trend of new cases for healthcare management purposes. Given the COVID-19 disease pandemic, the prediction of the epidemic trend of this disease is so important. Methods: We constructed an SEIR (Susceptible-Exposed-Infected-Recovered) model on the COVID-19 outbreak in Iran. We estimated model parameters by the data on notified cases in Iran in the time window 1/22/2020 – 20/7/2021. Global sensitivity analysis is performed to determine the correlation between epidemiological variables and SEIR model parameters and to assess SEIR model robustness against perturbation to parameters. We Combined Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) as a rigorous time series prediction approach with the SEIR model to predict the trend of COVID-19 new cases under two different scenarios including social distance and non-social distance. Results: The SEIR and ANFIS model predicted new cases of COVID-19 for the period February 7, 2021, till August 7, 2021. Model predictions in the non-social distancing scenario indicate that the corona epidemic in Iran may recur as an immortal oscillation and Iran may undergo a recurrence of the third peak. Conclusion: Combining parametrized SEIR model and ANFIS is effective in predicting the trend of COVID-19 new cases in Iran.

Impact of meteorological factors on number of new COVID-19 cases in Pune

Background: Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that can result in different types of illnesses, most commonly, as Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Researches have shown that the atmospheric variables and the density of population have affected the transmission of the disease. Meteorological variables like temperature, humidity among others have found to affect the rise of pandemic in positive or negative ways. Respiratory virus illnesses have shown seasonal variability since the time they have been discovered and managed. This study investigated the relationship between the meteorological variables of temperature, humidity and precipitation in the spread of COVID-19 disease in the city of Pune.Methods: This record based descriptive study is conducted after secondary data analysis of number of new cases of COVID-19 per day from the period 01 May to 24 December 2020 in Pune. Meteorological data of maximum (Tmax), minimum (Tmin) and daily average temperature (Tavg), humidity and precipitation were daily noted from Indian meteorological department website. Trend was identified plotting the daily number of clinically diagnosed cases over time period. Pearson’s correlation was used to estimate association between meteorological variables and daily detected fresh cases of COVID-19 disease. Results: Analysis revealed significant negative correlation (r=-0.3563, p&lt;0.005) between daily detected number of cases and maximum daily temperature. A strong positive correlation was seen between humidity and daily number of cases (r=0.5541, p&lt;0.005).Conclusions: The findings of this study will aid in forecasting epidemics and in preparing for the impact of climate change on the COVID epidemiology through the implementation of public health preventive measures.

Emerging application of Google Trends searches on "conjunctivitis" for tracing the course of COVID-19 pandemic.

Purpose:The aim of the present study was to use Google Trends for evaluating the association between the internet searches of the term “conjunctivitis” and the daily new cases of COVID-19.Methods:The relative search volume (RSV) of conjunctivitis from January 1 to April 16, 2019 (control group), January 1 to April 16, 2020 (first wave), and October 1 to December 31, 2020 (second wave) was obtained using Google Trends in Italy, France, United Kingdom, and United States. The number of COVID-19 daily new cases in the same countries were retrieved from Worldometer. Lag time correlation analyses were performed to evaluate the relationship between RSV and daily new cases (Pearson’s correlation coefficient).Results:During the first wave, the lagged RSV of conjunctivitis was significantly correlated with the number of COVID-19 daily new cases in all investigated countries. The highest correlation coefficients were obtained with a lag of 16 days in Italy (R = 0.868), 18 days in France (R = 0.491), 15 days in United Kingdom (R = 0.883), and 14 days in United States (R = 0.484) (all p < 0.001). Conversely, no significant correlations were found in the second wave and in the control group.Conclusion:Google Trends searches on conjunctivitis were significantly correlated with COVID-19 daily new cases during the first wave in Italy, France, United Kingdom, and United States, with a lag of 14–18 days. Repeating the analysis for the second wave, however, no significant correlations were found in any of the investigated countries.