EFFECTS OF EARTHQUAKES ON THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

The pandemic (2019-202?) caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is the cause of the COVID-19 disease, has already taken its place in modern human history. In the first months of the pandemic, as a result of the sudden and intense interruption of human activities, the decrease in nature-human relationship has created noticeable effects on the environment. Most governments take measures to reduce the spread of infection, primarily by increasing the capacity of the health system and the social distance between people. An earthquake that may occur during a pandemic may interfere with the effective implementation of such measures and cause an increase in the spread of the virus. This study aims to analyze the potential effect of the infection rate that may increase after an earthquake in a region where the pandemic continues, and the effect of a future earthquake on the spread of the virus. An open-access software was used for this and data on locally verified case numbers were combined with a seismic hazard and risk map to create a combined index. This index reveals areas where integrated disaster preparedness and emergency plans should be developed to take into account the likelihood of the spread of the post-earthquake COVID-19 outbreak.