The link between covid-19 pandemic and air pollution in Algeria

Abstract

With a total of 96000 positive cases and 2678 deaths, Algeria is the second most affected nation in Africa by Covid-19 after the South Africa. The Algerian Ministry of Health confirmed the first coronavirus (COVID-19) case on February 25, 2020, when an Italian national tested positive in Ouargla region in the south of the country. Since then, coronavirus disease has not stopped expanding and has been reported in all provinces with large variations among the different regions (centre, south, east and west). Among the potential factors responsible for this geographic variability, we have focused on the atmospheric pollution. The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between the confirmed cases of Covid-19 and air quality in Algeria provinces. Actual data on Covid-19 pandemic in Algeria provinces were collected from the Ministry of Health database. The corresponding long-term air quality concentrations, were obtained from Sentinel-5 precursor satellite data. Our results show that northern Algeria has been exposed to high concentration of atmospheric pollutants. Moreover, provinces with high fatality due to coronavirus occurred in this part of the country: Alger (366 cases), Setif (225) and Blida (207 cases). Correlation analysis confirms the positive association between air quality and cases of Covid-19 and show that the long-term exposure to atmospheric pollutant may be one of the most significant contributors to COVID-19 virus fatalities in Algeria. Finally, air quality should be taken into account by governments as part of an integrated approach to sustainable development and infectious disease spread prevention