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Exposure to polluted air in cities can significantly increase mortality from the coronavirus, according to a new study by the British Office for National Statistics (ONS). An increase of just one microgram per cubic meter of particulate matter translates into an increase in the death rate of 6%, according to research carried out using data from 46,000 deaths during the pandemic in England.

Other similar investigations, in the United States and the Netherlands, have concluded that pollution can shoot from 8% to 15% the cases of death from Covid-19, which would explain the high mortality rates experienced in cities such as Madrid or New York, or in metropolitan areas like Lombardy, during the critical phase of the pandemic.

The ONS study concludes that the increase of a single unit of nitrogen dioxide in the atmosphere translates into a relatively minor increase, of 2%, in the death rate of the coronavirus. Most major British cities are above the NO2 maximums recommended by the World Health Organization, which considers pollution "the number one public enemy of public health" in the 21st century.

However, the National Statistical Office warns that its report does not allow to establish a "definitive conclusion" about the relationship between contamination and mortality from the coronavirus and recognizes that it is necessary to contrast the data with the individual information of each patient, to determine the possible existence of health preconditions and rule out other possible factors. The first full study of its kind is already underway in the London metropolitan area and will be made public in the coming weeks.

Higher risk for ethnic minorities

However, the ONS admits that poor air quality may partially explain "the disparity in mortality from Covid-19 in ethnic minorities", more vulnerable because they live in more polluted areas of cities. Another of the data revealed by the study is that 35% of the fatalities suffered from a respiratory or cardiovascular disease.

Various investigations have shown that contamination inhibits the normal function of cilia, hair-like projections that are considered the lungs' first line of defense against invasion by pathogens.

The new report has served to reactivate the parliamentary campaign led by Labor Party member Geraint Davies, leading a group of 90 deputies who have called on the British Government for urgent action against pollution in cities to mitigate a possible second wave of the coronavirus. Nitrogen dioxide levels fell between 30% and 40% during lockdown due to decreased traffic, but have risen again (albeit at a slower rate than anticipated) during de-escalation.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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