Just a brief post to show who has the largest case rates. Arizona is in the lead. Note that everyone at the top of the list has very hot weather right now! Some, like AZ, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Nevada, Chile, and Utah have significant desert regions. Others like Panama, Florida, Louisiana, Texas, and South Carolina are hot and humid. This is probably not coincidence…
Chile is in the southern hemisphere…isn’t it winter there now?
Yeah I think so, but I also know they have a lot of desert there… perhaps lower temps but ultra-low humidity?
Just a query — would this have anything to do with living indoors in air conditioned places? Temperature could be related to the social environment it creates as much as to raw degrees of heat.
Mark, I have a feeling that “indoors” is a big piece of the puzzle. New York, New Jersey, and Mass all had problems controlling their outbreak during heating season. We got hit really hard once air conditioning season was in full force. I’m also interested in whether high density apartment HVAC may be related too… most of the outbreaks in PHX are in zip codes with lots of low-cost apartment housing.
Now that is a fascinating thought…Especially since I have heard the virus does poorly in heat. The indoors-AC condition is quite plausible. I wonder how that will effect re-entry to say, schools. I wonder if an air cleaner of sorts would do anything to decrease indoor risks?
Hi Hannah! I assure you that I put the “expensive” air filters in my house a month and a half ago, just in case! 🙂
I do think there’s a temperature correlation, but there’s also good evidence that the virus transmits effectively in low humidity. I wonder if that has to do with the conditions in which it can aerosolize the best? So low temperature + low humidity = Air Conditioning?
Does AC not contribute to respiratory stress as a result of the hot / cold transition, recirculating stale air and the convenience/comfort weakening effect? Could it therefore make a person more susceptible to the virus by being a sign of a weaker immune system? As a child really cold AC at friends’ houses sometimes gave me a chill that manifested itself in a cold or flu.
Yeah, that is good thinking, Alexander. AC may have all those effects. We also have something in the desert called a swamp cooler that uses evaporative cooling. They’re really great, but messy, so nicer houses don’t have them. I keep looking for things in plain sight that might explain why the poorer regions of the state have much higher numbers of COVID cases now. Top reason, I believe, is that they just don’t have the luxury to stay home. They go to work, often on public transportation. Many work in service industries. And they live in high-density apartment complexes with sketchy HVAC filtration…
How are you doing? You have a very broad set of interests, I notice!
Tod.
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