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Tuesday, October 27, 2020
Especially in metropolitan areas and industrial areas, people are exposed to high levels of air pollution. Apparently, dirt particles also increase the risk of Covid 19 disease. According to physician Thomas Münzel, some of the corona deaths can be attributed to increased fine dust contamination.
Cardiologist Thomas Münzel assumes that the risk of Covid-19 disease also increases in regions with high levels of air pollution. “Both the fine dust and the virus attack the endothelium, that is, the lining of the blood vessels, and cause inflammation,” Münzel said in “Spiegel.” If prolonged exposure to air pollution is combined with a corona infection, there is an increased susceptibility to Covid-19.
Polluted air could also increase the spread of the corona virus. Sars-CoV-2 RNA had been detected in fine dust samples in northern Italy. “Air pollution accounts for about 15 percent of Covid-19 deaths,” says Münzel. This is indicated by a study published in the journal “Cardiovascular Research”.
On the contrary, this means that less air pollution also helps against Covid-19. But for Münzel, fine dust alone represents a much greater danger. According to calculations by the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, it can be attributed 8.8 million premature deaths per year, 1.6 million more than from smoking.
In contrast to the risk of fine dust, the corona pandemic will respond much faster. The reason for this is “that the virus kills immediately. Fine dust, on the other hand, kills more slowly, more secretly,” Münzel continued. These dead are more or less accepted. However, in the short term, pollution has decreased in many parts of the world as a side effect of the pandemic.
In order to reduce personal exposure to fine dust, Münzel recommends wearing a nose and mouth cover. On the other hand, only an FFP2 mask helps against ultra-fine dust. There are also applications that show fine dust contamination in the outside air. The WHO recommends a limit value for particles with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers of a maximum of 10 micrograms per cubic meter of air, but the EU limit would be 25. However, phasing out fossil fuels, gas , oil or coal could cut the number of deaths in half.
