Intermediate levels of indoor relative humidity shown to improve COVID-19 outcomes globally RSocPublishing mit_hst COVID19 SARSCoV2 Humidity
By Neha MathurNov 18 2022Reviewed by Aimee Molineux In a recent study published in the Journal of the Royal Society, researchers found that indoor relative humidity modulates the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 outbreaks, and intermediate RHs between 40 to 60% are robustly associated with better COVID-19 outcomes.
About the study In the present study, researchers hypothesized that indoor RH might have been partially responsible for the observed regional heterogeneity in global COVID-19 outcomes. They proposed that indoor, not outdoor, environment is more relevant or closely correlated with COVID-19 spread and severity.
Study findings Related StoriesThe researchers used a rigorously processed extensive global dataset of COVID-19 statistics and meteorological variables, with extrapolated and validated indoor RH levels. The dataset was highly complex and noisy concerning the COVID-19 outbreak magnitude and reporting conditions. Yet, the same general patterns tended to persist even when differing time lags and applying different data treatments.
Intriguingly, modeling the COVID-19 outbreak versus indoor RH metrics using Huber's T weighting function showed a negative relationship between indoor RH and COVID-19 for temperate regions and the opposite for tropical countries. The results remained robust even when the team applied a non-parametric locally weighted scatterplot-smoothing technique to the same data.
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