BEIJING/PARIS: Air pollution from petrol and diesel vehicles is likely to increase mortality from the novel coronavirus in cities, public health experts told to media on Monday (March 16). The European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) warned that dirty air in urban areas that causes hypertension, diabetes and other respiratory illness could lead to a higher overall death toll from the virus currently sweeping the world.
A health officer operating a remote controlled disinfection robot to disinfect a residental area amid the Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province on Monday . Experts say that cleaner air is good to bring down the effects of the virus. - AFP
Emissions from petrol and diesel engines were still at"dangerous" levels that could imperil the most vulnerable during this and future pandemics, said the European Respiratory Society , which is a member of the EPHA. While there is currently no proven link between COVID-19 mortality and air pollution, one peer-reviewed study into the 2003 SARS outbreak showed that patients in regions with moderate air pollution levels were 84 percent more likely to die than those in regions with low air pollution.Mortality data for COVID-19 is incomplete, but preliminary numbers show the majority of patients who die are elderly or have pre-existing chronic conditions such as heart or lung disease.
The number of fatalities in Italy shot up by 368 to 1,809 on Sunday -- more than half of all the cases recorded outside China.
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