Dutch municipalities and the government must do more to improve air quality. This is the opinion of GGD GHOR, the association of regional health services. A study published on Wednesday by the RIVM, GGD GHOR and two universities shows that people who lived in places with polluted air were at increased risk of becoming infected with the coronavirus. They also had an increased risk of dying from the lung virus.
According to the researchers, hundreds more people may have died from the coronavirus between early 2020 and early 2021 due to dirty air. To this end, infection figures, hospital admissions and deaths from that period were examined. The researchers also compared regions with dirty air with areas where air quality was better. According to them, livestock farming and traffic in particular had an influence on the higher risk of corona and serious illness.
GGD GHOR states that municipalities can take measures to improve air quality, such as “less and cleaner traffic, competitive permits for companies and limiting wood burning,” says a spokeswoman. The umbrella organization calls on municipalities to join the Clean Air Agreement. In that agreement, parties such as the government, the provinces and more than a hundred municipalities have agreed to improve air quality in order to achieve health benefits.
According to the umbrella organization of GGDs, air pollution after smoking is one of the greatest threats to the health of Dutch people. Polluted air increases the risk of airborne diseases such as asthma in children and cardiovascular disease in adults, according to GGD GHOR.
