In Odisha, the total number of infected people crossed 18,000 mark after 673 more people were found infected with the coronavirus. The death toll in the state rose to 97 as six more patients died due to infection. A Health Department official said on Monday that the total numbers of infected people increased to 18,110 after 673 new cases of infection were reported.
Out of the six more people who died, five died in Ganjam district most affected by the infection in the state and one died in Gajapati, the official said. New cases of infected were reported in 23 districts. He said that out of the new cases of infected, 446 cases were reported in various isolated habitat centers. The official said that people coming in contact with the infected are being traced.
Meanwhile, a study conducted jointly by researchers from IIT-Bhubaneswar and AIIMS showed that cases of COVID-19 infection may increase if the temperature falls in monsoon and winter.
According to this study conducted by IIT-Bhubaneswar School of Earth, Ocean and Climate Sciences assistant professor V Vinoj, rain, temperature drop and cold weather may be favorable for the spread of COVID-19 infection.
The report titled 'Dependence on temperature and relative humidity of prevalence of COVID-19 in India' takes into account the number of cases of coronavirus outbreaks and infections in 28 states between April and June.
Vinoz said the study showed that an increase in temperature causes a decline in the spread of the virus. He told PTI-language, "According to the study, due to one-degree Celsius increase in temperature there is a reduction of 0.99 per cent in cases and the doubling time is increased to 1.13 days."
The study also found that an increase in relative humidity reduces the growth rate of coronavirus cases and increases the doubling time to 1.18 days. Dr. Bijayini Behera of AIIMS Bhubaneswar's Department of Microbiology, who was part of the research team, said that several studies have found that the drop in temperature. Relatively low humidity have contributed to the outbreak of the epidemic. However, researchers have said that more research is still needed to get accurate results.