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Air Pollution: Coronavirus

Question for Department of Health and Social Care

UIN HL11707, tabled on 30 December 2020

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any link between poor air quality in city centres and any increase in (1) COVID-19, and (2) respiratory diseases, in urban areas.

Answered on

13 January 2021

There is currently no clear evidence to suggest that air pollution has a direct link to the spread or severity of COVID-19. Public Health England (PHE) and Government departments are continuously reviewing whether air pollution may influence the health impact of COVID-19.

PHE has made no specific estimation of the impact of air pollution on respiratory disease in urban areas in the United Kingdom.