Experts from the Geneva-based Global Information Network on Heat and Health Risks (GHHIN) announced a kind of manual on managing health risks linked to high temperatures in the current outbreak of the Covid-19.
"In order to help governments and professionals in the sector prepare for these complex situations that jeopardize public health, a series has been prepared that provides more information on the management of the pandemic," they point out in their communication.
"They include a technical summary with heat protection measures for the new coronavirus, a question-and-answer section on key issues and a checklist for planning purposes," they added in their message, reproduced by the Climate Center of the Cuban Meteorological Institute.
"It covers topics related to vulnerable populations, personal protective equipment and thermal stress, health workers, fever in these conditions, air conditioning and ventilation, non-technological cooling options, as well as communication and disclosure.
"In addition, fresh outdoor spaces, informal settlements, social services, climate centers, seasonality and weather conditions, ozone, heat and Covid-19."
They recommended that communication and outreach strategies should be adapted, given that the usual measures designed to reduce heat-related illnesses and limit their mortality may be impossible to apply or may conflict with the suggestions and protocols of health organizations. public to limit contagion.
They cited, in this sense, the cases of leaving homes with dangerously high temperatures in search of heated public spaces, making visits to the homes of vulnerable people to check their health and receive urgent medical attention if there are signs of heat stroke.
GHHIN is a voluntary alliance arising from collaboration between the Joint Office of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) for Climate and Health and the Administration's Climate Program Office National Oceanic and Atmosphere (NOAA) of the United States.
They serve in the group of scientists and policy experts, and its partners include the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Likewise, the Council for the Defense of Natural Resources and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, as well as academic entities, public health organizations and meteorological services from dozens of countries.
Heat waves are becoming more frequent and intense as greenhouse gas concentrations cause global temperatures to rise, and this increasingly affects people's health and health systems.
In 2018 alone, the vulnerable population over the age of 65 was threatened by a record 220 million exposures to heat waves above the average for the reference period 1986–2005, according to the WMO Statement on the State of the Climate global in 2019.
Although environmental conditions are likely to have a limited impact on the locations and times of Covid-19 outbreaks, heat can exacerbate the consequences of the disease and exacerbate the clinical outcome of your patients.
It could increase the contagion rate due to the concentration of people outdoors and in public spaces, without forgetting that the additional number of patients affected by heat stress can further overload the health care system and other essentials at a time in the that many of them are already on the verge of collapse.
In areas affected by a large number of cases, an episode of intense heat could have serious health consequences and cause enormous numbers of fatalities.
Coronavirus disease has exacerbated the heat-related risks faced by many groups vulnerable to both Covid-19 and heat stress.
Following the loss of jobs and prolonged containment measures, people at risk of heat illness may find themselves in even more precarious socio-economic conditions, WMO concludes in its considerations on the matter. (By: Lino Luben Pérez)
Likewise, the Council for the Defense of Natural Resources and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, as well as academic entities, public health organizations and meteorological services from dozens of countries.
Heat waves are becoming more frequent and intense as greenhouse gas concentrations cause global temperatures to rise, and this increasingly affects people's health and health systems.
In 2018 alone, the vulnerable population over the age of 65 was threatened by a record 220 million exposures to heat waves above the average for the reference period 1986–2005, according to the WMO Statement on the State of the Climate global in 2019.
Although environmental conditions are likely to have a limited impact on the locations and times of Covid-19 outbreaks, heat can exacerbate the consequences of the disease and exacerbate the clinical outcome of your patients.
It could increase the contagion rate due to the concentration of people outdoors and in public spaces, without forgetting that the additional number of patients affected by heat stress can further overload the health care system and other essentials at a time in the that many of them are already on the verge of collapse.
In areas affected by a large number of cases, an episode of intense heat could have serious health consequences and cause enormous numbers of fatalities.
Coronavirus disease has exacerbated the heat-related risks faced by many groups vulnerable to both Covid-19 and heat stress.
Following the loss of jobs and prolonged containment measures, people at risk of heat illness may find themselves in even more precarious socio-economic conditions, WMO concludes in its considerations on the matter. (By: Lino Luben Pérez)
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