Study: spike in pollution can cause a surge of 8-9% Covid cases

In an interview to India Today, AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria said that even a slight increase in pollution will increase the coronavirus cases in the country.

A Lancet study has shown that even a little bit of increase in PM 2.5 levels lead to a surge of at least 8-9% increase in Covid cases.

Data also suggests that India has two peak seasons for influenza-like-illnesses, one being monsoon and the other being winter, since Covid-19 is a respiratory viral infection behaves almost like influenza.

Dr Guleria cautioned against crowding and carelessness and said that wearing a mask, practicing physical distance and hand hygiene could reduce the cases by at least 30-40%.