Coronavirus: pollution suspected of promoting the spread of covid-19

Are pollution peaks worsening the coronavirus epidemic? If meteorologists have already observed that the virus survives longer when the temperature is between 2 and 6 degrees, air loaded with pollutants would be even worse according to some specialists. They studied several countries at several periods of the pandemic: United States, China, Italy, Spain: each episode of pollution, particularly with fine particles, is followed by an outbreak of covid-19 cases.

Two hypotheses on the table

In Le Monde, epidemiologist Antoine Flahault explores this hypothesis. During these episodes, fine particles (with a size of less than 2.5 micrometers), linked to human activity, spread. Their size allows them to penetrate more easily into our body when we breathe and can displace several types of substances, including some harmful ones. Epidemiologists then have two hypotheses: these particles would serve as a means of transport for the virus, or our weakened organisms would be easier to contaminate.

Scientists also realized that cases increased in the Canaries in February 2020, just after a sandstorm coming from the Sahara, the kind that turns the sky yellow-orange . The World Health Organization, for its part, remains cautious about the link between fine particles and the spread of the virus. While waiting to understand everything, they remind us that the best way to protect yourself is to go out masked.