A Global Meta‐Analysis of the Effects of Greenspaces on COVID‐19 Infection and Mortality Rates.

The COVID‐19 outbreak in 2020 resulted in rapidly rising infection rates with high associated mortality rates. In response, several epidemiological studies aimed to define ways in which the spread and severity of COVID‐19 can be curbed. As a result, there is a steady increase in the evidence linking greenspaces and COVID‐19 impact. However, the evidence of the benefits of greenspaces or greenness to human wellbeing in the context of COVID‐19 is fragmented and sometimes contradictory. This calls for a meta‐analysis of existing studies to clarify the matter. Here, we identified 621 studies across the world on the matter, which were then filtered down to 13 relevant studies for meta‐analysis, covering Africa, Asia, Europe, and the USA. These studies were meta‐analyzed, with the impacts of greenness on COVID‐19 infection rate quantified using regression estimates whereas impacts on mortality rates were measured using mortality rate ratios. We found evidence of significant negative correlations between greenness and both COVID‐19 infection and mortality rates. We further found that the impacts on COVID‐19 infection and related mortality are moderated by year of publication, greenness metrics, sample size, health and political covariates. This clarification has far‐reaching implications for policy development toward the establishment and management of green infrastructure for the benefit of human wellbeing. Plain Language Summary: The research on whether greenspaces help people's health during COVID‐19 is unclear and sometimes has conflicting results. To address this, we conducted a detailed study of this body of knowledge. First, we found 621 studies from around the world and narrowed them down to 13 that fit our research questions, from places like Africa, Asia, Europe, and the USA. We then consolidated the results of these studies to see how greenspaces affected the number of COVID‐19 cases and deaths. Our analysis showed that more greenspaces are linked to fewer COVID‐19 cases and deaths. We also found that other factors such as when the study was conducted, how they measured greenness, and other health and political factors have a strong impact on the results of each study. These findings are important because they can help guide policies on creating and taking care of greenspaces to improve people's health. Key Points: A meta‐analysis is conducted to synthesize the evidence of the benefits of greenspaces against COVID‐19Greenspaces are linked to fewer COVID‐19 infections and related mortalities [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]