Health experts from the American Lung Association say poor air quality in New York and Connecticut could put people at risk of contracting COVID-19. The group also released its annual State of the Air report.
“Those with lung disease are more at risk when exposed to poor air quality. Some very early evidence suggests that exposure to air pollution may make people more vulnerable to COVID-19 infection, in fact,” says Payel Gupta, an asthma and allergy specialist in New York City.
The annual report gives Suffolk County and all eight counties in Connecticut a failing grade for high ozone levels. Still, the report called it one of the best years on record for the New York City metro area.
The report doesn’t include data from pollution levels since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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