Air pollution from petrol and diesel vehicles is likely to increase mortality from the novel coronavirus in cities, public health experts have warned, AFP reports.
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.
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 (EPS), which is a member of the EPHA.
“Patients with chronic lung and heart conditions caused or worsened by long-term exposure to air pollution are less able to fight off lung infections and more likely to die,” EPS member Sara De Matteis said.
“This is likely also the case for Covid-19,” added de Matteis, who is also an associate professor in occupational and environmental medicine at Italy’s Cagliari University.
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.
According to the European Environment Agency, air pollution leads to around 400,000 early deaths across the continent annually, despite European Union air quality directives.
One Covid-19 hotspot, northern Italy, has particularly high levels of PM10 - microscopic particles of pollution due largely to road traffic.
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. (Guardian)
Spain to take over private health care providers
Here is the latest from Spain, sent in by the Guardian’s Madrid correspondent, Ashifa Kassam.
Faced with an overstretched healthcare system and a coronavirus epidemic that is spreading at one of the fastest rates in the world, the Spanish government has announced sweeping measures that allow it to take over private health care providers and requisition materials such as masks and Covid-19 tests.
Private health care providers are now at the disposition of public health authorities, health minister Salvador Illa said on Sunday evening. As well, any company that has supplies of protective gear that could help the country fight the virus – or any company capable of manufacturing these materials – have been given 48 hours to report to health authorities or otherwise face fines.
Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, declared a state of emergency on Saturday, ushering in a 15-day, near-total lockdown for the country’s 47 million residents. All non-essential shops, along with bars, restaurants and cinemas are closed, with residents only able to leave their homes individually and for specific reasons such as to shop for food or medications.
Social gatherings have been banned and playgrounds blocked off with police tape, while army specialists clad in protective suits have been dispatched to spray down train stations with disinfectant.
The emergency measures also allow the Spanish government to temporarily requisition property and take over factories and businesses if necessary.
In the span of three weeks, Spain has gone from having no documented cases of coronavirus to nearly 8,000 confirmed cases and 288 deaths.
Three quarters of the deaths have been in the Madrid region, where authorities recently floated a plan to convert the many now-vacant hotels into makeshift hospitals.
On Sunday, Madrid’s regional leader, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, issued a plea for ventilators and other equipment. “I beg you earnestly for supplies to save lives and protect our healthcare professionals.”
Spain’s defence minister, Margarita Robles, said a military unit specialising in emergencies would be deployed across the country. Military hospitals will also be put at the disposition of health authorities and military pharmacies have been ordered to increase the production of disinfectant and generic medicines.
The military will also assist in handing out kits containing hygiene supplies and food to homeless people during the lockdown, while soup kitchens will be opened in order to offer takeaway food to those in need.
[ @Knowsstuff Sorry to hear your business is suffering. If things get bad enough, do prepare for this to potentially happen here, too. ]
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