Air pollution may increase deaths from the Coronavirus

Air pollution from gasoline and diesel vehicles is likely to increase deaths from the emerging urban Coronavirus, public health experts told AFP on Monday.
The European Union warned the public health that the polluted air in cities that causes high blood pressure, diabetes and respiratory diseases, may lead to a rise in the total number of deaths caused by the virus currently sweeping the world.
The European Respiratory Association, a member of the union, said emissions from gasoline and diesel engines are still at “dangerous” levels and could put the most vulnerable people at risk during the current pandemic and others in the future.
“Patients suffering from chronic pulmonary and heart disease caused by prolonged exposure to air pollution are less able to combat lung infections and more likely to die,” said Sarah de Matisse, a member of the society.
“This is likely to be the case with the Covid 19 epidemic,” added the assistant professor of occupational and environmental medicine at the University of Cagliari, Italy.