El Paso doctor warns human behavior in cold weather can increase spread of coronavirus
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — The CDC reports it’s still unknown what effect weather and temperature can have on COVID-19. However, health experts say there is a concern that cold weather can increase the spread of the virus due to human behavior.
When temperatures drop, activities and gatherings tend to move indoors. Local infectious disease expert with Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso Dr. Armando Meza says the virus has an easier time spreading inside. That’s due to the fact indoor areas tend to have more restricted airflow, and there has been some suggestion that particles of the virus can remain suspended in the air for hours.
“If those individuals are inside a close environment with the airflow being minimized, then the chances that you're going to be exposed are going to be very high,” Dr. Meza said. “An open environment where you are in the outside, the airflow by definition is going to be better.”
Another concern this winter: flu season. Flu and COVID-19 share many of the same symptoms, which can make it harder to tell them apart. Plus, there’s concern over the added strain flu patients could bring to hospitals while they’re already dealing with coronavirus patients.
“We are afraid this could lead to another spike in cases when we have learned our lesson that these patients can really turn the medical system into really hard capacity because of the number of people that end up in the hospital. We want to avoid people being hospitalized and having a peak of influenza and having a peak of COVID-19, which will be very hard to deal with,” Dr. Meza said.
Some local coronavirus patients have already been moved to outdoor tents to expand capacity at University Medical Center. A spokesman for the hospital says the tents are heated and many of the patients inside the tents have already recovered.
