Does the environment matter?; Effect of environmental factors on COVID-19 transmission in the Republic of Korea

Abstract

Background: Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been declared a global pandemic and is a major concern of public health worldwide. In this study, we aimed to determine the role of environmental factors such as climate and air pollutants in the transmission of COVID-19 in the Republic of Korea.Methods: We collected epidemiological and environmental data from two regions of the Republic of Korea, namely Seoul metropolitan region (SMR) and Daegu-Gyeongbuk region (DGR) from February, 2020 to July, 2020. Further, we analyzed the data to identify the correlation of each environmental factor with the confirmed cases of COVID-19 on a daily basis.Results: Among the various environmental parameters, duration of sunshine and ozone level were found to be positively correlated with COVID-19 in both regions. However, the association of temperature variables with COVID-19 transmission showed contradictory results upon comparing the data from SMR and DGR.Conclusions: In conclusion, our results suggest that the environmental factors could play a crucial role in the transmission of COVID-19. However, it should be noted that statistical bias could arise due to the disease outbreak being confined to a specific area and extensive epidemiological investigation.