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Corona deaths in Germany: cardiologist discovers an amazing connection

2020-10-27T15:08:52.910Z


The number of deaths in connection with the corona virus has cracked the 10,000 mark in Germany. The cardiologist Thomas Münzel sees air pollution as an important factor.


The number of deaths in connection with the corona virus has cracked the 10,000 mark in Germany.

The cardiologist Thomas Münzel sees air pollution as an important factor.

  • The

    second wave * of

    the

    coronavirus pandemic *

    causes more than 10,000 deaths in

    Germany

    .

  • Cardiologist

    Thomas Münzel

    sees a connection between

    Covid-19 deaths

    and

    air pollution

    .

  • A

    reduced air pollution

    would in the fight against the

    coronavirus *

    help.

Mainz - The

second wave of

the

coronavirus pandemic

has finally

arrived

in

Germany

.

On Tuesday, the

Robert Koch Institute (RKI) * reported

more than 11,000 new infections within one day.

In addition, the number of

deaths

related to

Covid-19

has increased by 42 compared to the previous day.

According to the RKI, the number of

corona deaths

in Germany since the beginning of the pandemic has totaled

10,098

.

Cardiologist

Thomas Münzel

and his colleagues discovered a connection between

air pollution

and

Covid-19 deaths

in a study

.

Corona: Link between air pollution and Covid-19 deaths

Münzel

is a doctor and heads the

Center for Cardiology I at

the

University

Medical

Center

in

Mainz

.

He researches the effects of

air pollution

and noise on the human body.

In a conversation with

Der Spiegel

, the

cardiologist

spoke

about the connection between

fine dust particles

in the air and

deaths

in connection with the

coronavirus *

.

The 65-year-old doctor said that there were

suspicions

that

fine dust could

also

cause

the novel

coronavirus *

can transport.

"The RNA of

Sars-CoV-2

could in any case be detected in fine dust samples from northern Italy," reported

Münzel

.

Northern Italy

was

one of the hardest hit areas in the world

during the first wave of the

corona pandemic

.

The cardiologist added: "And we have just

published a study

in the journal

Cardiovascular Research

that suggests that

around 15 percent of Covid-19 deaths are due to air pollution

."

Coronavirus: Air pollution makes people more vulnerable

The

researchers

know the exact reason for this

*

not yet, explained

Münzel

.

The doctor speculated: "But it could be because both

fine dust

and the virus

attack

the

endothelium

, i.e. the lining of the blood vessels,

and cause inflammation." If a long exposure to

air pollution

and an

infection

with the

coronavirus come

together, this results , an "additively harmful health effect, with a greater susceptibility to Covid-19," said

Münzel

.

The cardiologist therefore confirmed that

lower air pollution

would help

in the fight against

Covid-19

.

However,

fine dust is

also

a killer

regardless of the

corona

virus.

"According to the calculations of my colleague Jos Lelieveld from the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz, around

8.8 million

premature deaths are caused by fine dust

every year

," reported

Münzel

.

That is more deaths than from smoking with 7.2 million.

"Air pollution accounts for around 15 percent of Covid-19 deaths."



There are so many fundamental rights

restrictions

to prevent corona deaths.



It is all the more important that car companies comply with the laws on air pollution control.

https://t.co/vrrPa0P7Ln

- Michael Bloss (@micha_bloss) October 27, 2020

Münzel explains the risk from particulate matter pollution - wearing a face mask helps

In order

to reduce the risk of

particulate matter

for individuals, the cardiologist suggested using

apps

that show how high the level of

particulate matter in

the outside air is.

Wearing

mouth and nose protection would also

help.

For the ultra-fine dust you need an FFP2 mask.

"But in the end it is politicians who have to do something: set limits," warned

Münzel

.

As a side effect of the

corona pandemic

,

air pollution has

decreased massively in many places around the world.

In the eyes of the doctor, this is due to the fact that one

reacted more quickly

to

Covid-19

.

The virus kills immediately.

Fine dust,

on the other hand, kills more slowly, more in secret.

So far, we have more or less accepted the particulate matter dead, ”said

Münzel in

conclusion.

(ph) * Merkur.de is part of the Ippen-Digital editorial network

List of rubric lists: © picture alliance / Partha Sarkar / XinHua / dpa

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2020-10-27

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