How bad is the office air?

THE MYSTERIOUS nature of the novel coronavirus, which made its appearance in China last year, is pushing the limits of medical knowledge by challenging researchers and scientists to provide better particulars of a virus that has sickened millions and killed thousands worldwide.

Protecting the health and safety of Jamaicans must be the ultimate goal of the Government. Even though Jamaica is not part of the race to find a vaccine, it can heed the recommendations of international bodies like the World Health Organization (WHO) while paying attention to the science.

In time, small-island states like Jamaica will benefit from many of these research efforts. Research coming out of Israel and the United States, for example, has found a strong link between high fatality rates of COVID-19 patients and heavily polluted urban areas.

More research is required to determine whether long-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide pollution may play a role in the death of COVID-19 patients. Already, there is clear evidence that dirty air does harm the lungs, and respiratory illnesses like coronavirus could have serious implications for persons who breathe in contaminated air. Which brings us to question of whether our office workers are being slowly poisoned by the air they breathe for a substantial part of their day.

DROP IN AIR POLLUTION

The forced lockdown by the Government in an effort to slow the spread of the virus would have contributed to a fall in the level of air pollution. That is understandable, with less traffic emitting toxic fumes and reduced industrial activity which is known to create air-pollution hot spots. But could the fact that office workers are staying home help to prevent even more infections from happening?

There is a growing sense that Jamaica, and the world in general, will never be the same after COVID19. The pandemic has changed our lives and way of doing things, and with our economy virtually at a standstill, reduced human activities have created positives for the environment. Going forward, if we were able to take a peek through the window what would post-COVID-19 Jamaica look like? Let’s start with the environment.

Social media images of a clean Kingston Harbour have been circulating, and the responses have been positive. Neighbourhoods are quieter, commercial garbage has been reduced, and many areas are free of the usual debris. The lockdown has forced us to take a deeper look at our environment. Do we want to go back to the time when cars, trucks, and buses were belching out toxic fumes in the city? When rat-infested commercial garbage cast a shadow on the city? Is it inevitable that we will return to our old ways when the lockdown ends?

We can see, in the future, a Jamaica where devices are installed to monitor the level of pollutants in offices and public buildings. These monitors would ensure that pollutants in these indoor spaces do not exceed the limits recommended by the WHO. We envisage that union leaders would not only be concerned about workers’ salaries, but that they would agitate for Government and private-sector employers to pay greater attention to indoor air quality and the environment.

The COVID-19 lockdown has presented opportunities for societal improvements. There is indeed a silver lining to this crisis. It has shown that businesses and educational institutions can use technology and be efficient and productive in carrying out their operations.

Has our Government started to think about how it will seize the opportunities and institute new measures to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and promote the use of solar and other alternative energy?

Knowing what we already know, we urge Government to take the measures that will help to lower pollution and help the country prepare for the next pandemic, which scientists are predicting will come sometime in the future.

The opinions on this page, except for The Editorial, do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Gleaner.