Geoclimatic influence on the spread of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) worldwide

Abstract

In December 2019, a new COVID- 19 virus causing severe acute respiratory syndrome emerged in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, and spread rapidly to other parts of China and other countries around the world, despite massive government efforts to contain the disease. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of temperature and population density on the spread of the pandemic over time and geography. We used the Geographic Information System to map confirmed cases, and Stata software to correlate these cases with temperature over time and space. The countries of the world affected during this period are located in temperate zones where the temperature range from one region to another is significant in winter. Africa is therefore ten times less exposed than Europe to the import of Covid-19 cases. An increase in temperature leads to a reduction in actual confirmed cases and an increase in population density leads to an increase in confirmed cases. Politicians need to make the right decisions and take positive steps to combat this pandemic without slowing down efforts to combat other communicable diseases such as malaria in Africa.

Keywords:

Covid-19, SIG, temperature, world, human.