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. 2022 Jul:16:e01257.
doi: 10.1016/j.sciaf.2022.e01257. Epub 2022 Jun 22.

COVID -19 Morbidity and mortality in tropical countries: The effects of economic, institutional, and climatic variables

Wisdom Akpalu  1 , J Atsu Amegashie  2 , Selma T Karuaihe  3
Affiliations

COVID -19 Morbidity and mortality in tropical countries: The effects of economic, institutional, and climatic variables

Wisdom Akpalu et al. Sci Afr. 2022 Jul.

Abstract

Despite the significant and rising human and economic costs of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), our knowledge on its epidemiology remains limited necessitating expedited research to aid public policy. This study contributes to the knowledge gap by focusing on exploring the effects of potential covariates (economic, institutional, and climatic conditions) on COVID-19 in tropical countries. Using an Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression, our results showed a non-linear relationship between temperature and infection-to-test ratio. Specifically, temperatures warmer than 18 °C can favor the spread of the disease. In addition, strikingly, countries with better democratic principles registered more positive cases than their counterparts at high levels of corruption.

Keywords: COVID-19; Demography; Institutions; Temperature; Tropical countries.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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