Issue.

Currently, there is no website or app that tells us how air pollution affects the health of people infected with COVID19. Some universities, such as Harvard University, have found a relationship between exposure to air pollution and the increase in deaths from COVID19, and consider that it can be a fatal aggravating factor of this disease, as is advanced age, high blood pressure, diabetes , immunosuppression, pregnancy, among others. It is estimated that air pollution could increase the risk of dying from COVID19 by 8%.

Hypothesis / Proposal

Can exposure to air pollution be avoided or reduced by having quick and easy access to air quality information? Could we make use of information through a website or an app that updates this information in real time, and whose data comes from organizations with a great reputation and, therefore, great reliability?

NASA and other space agencies share information publicly about some data related to pollution and climate change (average planet temperature), collected through their satellites. By using this information appropriately, it is possible to estimate the possibility of increasing the fatal risk of COVID19 due to the time of exposure to certain concentrations of atmospheric pollutants. A calculator that weights the risk of death from COVID19 aggravation, considering factors such as exposure to contamination depending on the place and time of residence, as well as aggravating factors of this disease such as age, pre-existing diseases, among other factors, this tool becomes very useful, considering that according to the WHO more than 90% of the world population breathes polluted air. The display of a map that shows the user's location through a GPS, or the location provided by the user, will be able to report on levels of air pollution, and a traffic light will indicate the level of risk that the user of the app has due to COVID19 . The authorities in charge of health, together with authorities in charge of the environment and atmospheric pollution in a region, may consider this information to evaluate the advisability of reducing pollution in their districts, verify the effectiveness of the measures taken for this purpose, and They will be able to measure and evaluate the impact on the health of their population.

Another factor to take into account, and which is not yet sufficiently known as it is a new disease in humans, is the fact that people who have developed the symptoms of this disease, and who have been affected in the ability to pulmonary oxygenation as a consequence of the injuries suffered, will be in need of greater precautions to try to have an acceptable quality of health. Air pollution could be a factor that worsens lung functions.

EXPECTED RESULTS

Scopes of the project.

· Monitor the levels of pollutants that could have a negative impact on the development of COVID disease19.

· Prevent, through its simple use by the population, the aggravation of the effects of this disease in the case of being unfortunately infected.

· The authorities will be able to calculate more accurately the possible scenarios taking into account the number of inhabitants, age range, factors such as pre-existing diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, immunosuppressed, among other conditions, and the historical air pollution conditions of its demarcation. . Other scenarios would include: number of people who would require hospitalization, necessary hospital facilities, types of equipment that would be necessary to have, payment of pensions for permanent disabilities, economic losses due to deaths, among others.

· Insurance institutions should adjust their actuarial calculations depending on the regions and time in which their clients have lived and been exposed to atmospheric pollutants, since disbursements can be determined more precisely, without being too short or excessive. , and in the same way, the amounts to be paid for the policies must be adjusted.

FUTURE OF THIS PROPOSAL

As scientists become more aware of the relationship between the proliferation of COVID19 in the environment and air pollution, along with other environmental factors such as temperature increases, humidity levels, solar radiation, weather conditions, and the worsening disease, the impact of air pollution on these types of diseases can be shown more specifically, based on information on levels of air pollution by NASA, ESA and other space agencies.This information displayed in the app may trigger new conclusions and will allow making decisions of great impact for the population, governments and private institutions with issues of health, infrastructure and finances of a country.

REFERENCES / SOURCES

1.- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Center for Climate, Health and The Global Environment. Coronavirus and Air Pollution.

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/c-change/subtopics/coronavirus-and-pollution/

2.- . Xiao Wu,  Rachel C. Nethery, Benjamin M. Sabath, Danielle Braun, Francesca Dominici. Exposure to air pollution and COVID-19 mortality in the United States: A nationwide cross-sectional study. https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/covid-pm

3.-Yongjian Zhua, Jingui Xieb, Fengming Huang, Liqing Cao. Association between short-term exposure to air pollution and COVID-19 infection: Evidence from China.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004896972032221X?via%3Dihub

4.-Yaron Ogen. Assessing nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels as a contributing factor to coronavirus (COVID-19) fatality.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969720321215

5-Marco Travaglio, Yizhou Yu, Rebeka Popovic, Liza Selley, Nuno Santos Leal, Miguel Martins. Links between air pollution and COVID-19 in England

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.16.20067405v4

6.-Leonardo Setti, Fabrizio Passarini, Gianluigi De Gennaro, Pierluigi Barbieri, Maria Grazia Perrone, Andrea Piazzalunga, Massimo Borelli, Jolanda Palmisani, Alessia Di Gilio, Prisco Piscitelli, Alessandro Miani. The Potential role of Particulate Matter in the Spreading of COVID-19 in Northern Italy: First Evidence-based Research Hypotheses.

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.11.20061713v1

7.-World Heatlh Organization. WHO Manifesto for a healthy recovery from COVID-19.

https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/who-manifesto-for-a-healthy-recovery-from-covid-19

8.-World Health Organization. Air pollution. Overview.

https://www.who.int/health-topics/air-pollution#tab=tab_1