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Indoor temperature and relative humidity in hospitals: workplace considerations during the novel coronavirus pandemic
  1. Sadeq A Quraishi1,
  2. Lorenzo Berra2,
  3. Ala Nozari3
  1. 1 Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA
  2. 2 Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
  3. 3 Department of Anesthesia, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA
  1. Correspondence to Dr Sadeq A Quraishi, Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA 02111, USA; squraishi{at}tuftsmedicalcenter.org

https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2020-106653

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    The link between seasonal variation and viral outbreaks is a topic of much debate.1 It is postulated that cold temperatures increase viral half-lives and that low relative humidity (RH) adversely influences natural processes that otherwise lead to viral inactivation.2 3 As such, there is a growing interest in whether indoor temperature and RH may be modifiable risk factors for aerial transmission of viruses. Indeed, preclinical studies and observational data suggest that high temperature as well as RH in the 40%–60% range may reduce transmission of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).4 5 And although high humidity has been shown to reduce transmission of various other aerosolised …

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors SQ planned the study. All authors jointly collected the data. SQ composed the letter with edits from LB and AN. SQ submitted the letter and is responsible for the overall content.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient consent for publication Not required.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.