Experts explain about risks of coronavirus spread in winter

A possible second wave of coronavirus infections during winter is being discussed in Bangladesh for quite a few days as the cold weather is about to set in, reports bdnews24.com.
An escalation is feared to be exacerbated by winter diseases like cough and cold, which are also common symptoms of Covid-19, the respiratory illness caused by the virus.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) warned in September that Covid-19 is spreading at a worrying pace in some parts of the Northern Hemisphere, a few months away from the winter influenza season.
Even Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last month asked all to be prepared for the possible surge in COVID-19 cases, prompting top officials of the administration and law enforcement to meet experts.
The government is going to make an action plan fleshing out ways to keep the wheels of the economy running should a second wave of coronavirus infection strike Bangladesh during winter, Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam had said after the meeting.
So, what are the risks involving the ongoing coronavirus outbreak in Bangladesh.
ASM Alamgir, the principal scientific officer at the government's disease control agency IEDCR, thinks the situation in Bangladesh may not get as worse as in the countries where temperature drops sharply during winter.
Even if the mercury remains at moderate levels, the lifestyle of Bangladeshis during winter may complicate the situation, which will depend on seasonal diseases, the people's behaviour, and the government's management system, experts say.
Many fear that the UK and the other European countries are undergoing the second wave now, with worse to come during winter.
"But the seasons in Bangladesh are different. The temperature remains at 14 to 15 degrees Celsius here even during extreme cold while cold means a temperature below five degrees Celsius in Europe. So it's better not to say anything about the effects of temperature on the outbreak in Bangladesh," said Alamgir.
But it doesn't mean that the people can let their guards down, he added.

"We must keep in mind that the virus's longevity grows when temperature drops. We must be careful instead of panicking or relaxing," the IEDCR official said.
Dr ABM Abdullah, a former dean of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University's medicine faculty, pointed out the change of lifestyle during winter.
The novel coronavirus can remain in the air for a long period inside enclosed rooms and the people keep the doors and windows shut during winter, he said.
Dr Abdullah also noted that the novel coronavirus originated and spread in China during winter by the end of 2019.
"And now the number of infection is rising in many cold countries with winter approaching. So we can assume that the outbreak may surge here in the coming winter," he added.
Public health expert Dr Mushtuq Husain sees another factor that can significantly raise the risk of infection during winter.
Washing hands with soap and warm water, or using sanitiser is one of the key hygiene rules to reduce the risk of infection, but the people tend to avoid water during winter, he said.
And more people get into close contact during winter than any other season because many festivals and ceremonies are held at this time of the year, he added.
Winter usually is relatively brief in Bangladesh, but brings different sorts of diseases, such as fever, cold, cough, pneumonia and respiratory infections, cold diarrhoea, eye inflammation and dermatological problems.
These diseases affected more than 538,000 people in Bangladesh between November 01, 2019 and February 19, 2020. As many as 61 of them died.
The symptoms of these diseases are common in Covid-19 as well, which poses a risk, said Dr Abdullah.
Professor Nazrul Islam, a member of the national technical advisory committee to tackle COVID-19, is not happy with the efforts to make people follow the health protocols.