RETRACTED ARTICLE: The role of temperature on the global spread of COVID-19 and urgent solutions

This study explored whether the global temperature had any role in the spread and vulnerability to COVID-19 and how that knowledge can be used to arrest the fast-spreading disease. It highlighted that for transmitting the virus, global temperature played an important role and a moderately cool environment was the most favourable state. The risk from the virus was reduced significantly for warm places and countries. Based on the temperature of March and April, various degrees of vulnerability were identified and countries were specified. The maximum reported case, as well as death, was noted when the temperature was in the range of around 275 °K (2 °C) to 290 °K (17 °C). Countries like the USA, UK, Italy and Spain belonged to this category. The vulnerability was moderate when the temperature was less than around 275 °K (2 °C), e.g. Russia, parts of Canada and a few Scandinavian countries. For temperature 300 °K (27 °C) and above, a significantly lesser degree of vulnerability was noted. Countries from South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, South-East Asia, the African continent and Australia fell in that category. This work discussed that based on the variability of temperature, countries can switch from one vulnerability state to another. That influence of temperature on the virus and results of previous clinical trials with similar viruses provided a useful insight that regulating the level of temperature can offer remarkable results to arrest and stop the outbreak. Based on that knowledge, some urgent and simple solutions are proposed, which are practically without side effects and very cost-effective too.


Temperature Sensitivity: Clinical Trials
Seasonally dependent endemic virus (Lowen et al., 2007): Temperature of 5 ºC and Relative Humidity (RH) 35% to 50%, infection rate was very high (75-100%). Whereas, when RH was still kept at 35%, but only temperature was increased to 30°C, infection rate surprisingly reduced to zero.

True for similar Coronavirus genus SARS and MARS:
Virus remain active for a long time in low temperature (Van Doremalen N., 2013). Low temperature significantly contributes to the survival and transmission of the virus (Casanova et al., 2010;Chan et al., 2011;Seung et al., 2007).
Typical Air-Conditioning Temperature: SARS could be active for at least five days in typical airconditioned environments which has relative humidity 40-50 % and room temperature 22 -25°C (Chan et al., 2011).

Similar generic Coronavirus (viz. SARS-CoV) using a variable
Temperature (Casanova et al., 2010): Inactivation of virus was faster at all humidity level if temperature was simply raised to 20°C from 4°C, more rapid if the temperature was further increased to 40°C from 20°C.

Indrani Roy
COVID-19 is extremely contagious and invaded most of the globe in less than two months.
Attention: Understand nature of its transmission under variable temperature condition.

Lab experiment with Guinea Pigs (Lowen et al., 2007):
Using similar seasonal air-borne virus, it studied effect of temperature on Airborne Transmission as well as Contact Transmission. Increasing temperature prevented airborne transmission but not contact transmission. When guinea pigs were kept in separate cages at temperature of 30°C for 1 week, no recipient guinea pigs were infected. But if those were kept in same cage to simulate contact transmission, between 75% and 100% became infected. No role of humidity is found in these experiments.  Varied characteristics: popular tourist spots, international business hubs with more foreign travellers, level of testing, infrastructural facility, population density, different degree of lockdown restrictions.

Hence Contact Transmission plays role in all Temperature.
In spite of all dissimilarities still one common factor: Death per Million for all those countries from SAARC and SEAC were much less and the pattern is still maintained. It was lesser than 8 till 1 st of May, while in Spain it was 531, Italy 467and UK 405.

Temperature Sensitivity -Proof for all countries from SAARC and SEAC
Because of large populations, India was one of the highest ranked during August, in overall counts of total Deaths, as well as total Cases.  Portable Convector Room Heater: Stay close to a convector room heater and inhale hot air at least two times a day for around half an hour each time (keeping comfort level). It would be very useful at initial stages of the disease.
Disinfect any place using High Temperature: Before start of office, school or business, temperature of premises may be kept very high, (say, 60ºC) for half an hour. For airports, train and bus, the same method of disinfecting could be thought of.
Optimum temperature and duration can be tested easily. For any external object or material, disinfecting using high temperature could be a useful solution.
Using Blow Dryer/ Hair Dryer: For minor symptoms, inhaling hot air intermittently through the nose (keeping comfort level) even for five minutes, say two/three times a day, will also be useful to kill virus in the nasal cavity.
Hot Drinks: For very mild symptoms, take hot drinks (could be tea, coffee, warm milk, hot water with lemon etc.) few times a day to destroy virus in the mouth and throat. Gargle with warm salt water al least three/four times a day will be very beneficial. Hot soup will also be useful. Outside Raw Fire: In underdeveloped countries and rural places, people usually sit in a circle round a camp-fire in winter. They use dry leaves and spare woods for a small fire. That heat in winter could be useful.

Substitute of Blow Dryer and Room Heater:
While cooking, all members of the household could be, in turn, stay close to the heat source, for, say, half an hour a day. Also, each individual can use separate folded cotton cloths to take heat from the cooking container and use on the nose.