EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AND COVID-19 TRANSMISSION IN SELANGOR, MALAYSIA

Received 2023-07-07; Accepted 2023-08-17; Published 2023-09-15

Authors

  • Norezuan Abd Ghani Centre of Environmental Health & Safety Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 42300 Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.
  • Nazri Che Dom Centre of Environmental Health & Safety Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 42300 Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.
  • Rahmat Dapari Department of Community Health, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
  • Samuel Yaw Agyemang-Badu College of Health -Yamfo, Department of Community Health, Ministry of Health, Sunyani-Yamfo, Ghana.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22452/jummec.sp2023no2.15

Keywords:

COVID-19, Environmental Factors, Temperature, Humidity, Malaysia

Abstract

The transmission and severity of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID -19) are related to environmental factors such
as temperature and humidity. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between daily reported COVID
-19 cases and environmental variables. In this study, we used data from October 2020 to October 2021. We used a
Generalised Additive Model (GAM) to examine the short-term relationship between COVID -19 and environmental
variables in Selangor, Malaysia, using daily meteorological components and daily confirmed COVID -19 cases. We
discovered a significant inverse relationship between daily confirmed COVID -19 cases and mean temperature
(Tave), relative humidity, wind speed, rainfall, and wind effect index (K), while temperature-humidity index (THI)
was significantly associated with an increase in daily confirmed COVID -19 cases. The results of this study provide
important insights into the impact that environmental factors may have on the transmission of COVID -19 and
should be considered in the development of public health interventions in Selangor, Malaysia.

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Published

2023-09-15

Issue

Special Issue 2 (2023): Postgraduate Research Colloquium

Section

Research article

License

All authors agree that the article, if editorially accepted for publication, shall be licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 to allow others to freely access, copy and use research provided the author is correctly attributed, unless otherwise stated. All articles are available online without charge or other barriers to access. However, anyone wishing to reproduce large quantities of an article (250+) should inform the publisher. Any opinion expressed in the articles are those of the authors and do not reflect that of the University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

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