Studies Suggest Link Between High Pollution Levels in China and Coronavirus

A residential block covered in smog in Shenyang, China's Liaoning Province on Nov. 8, 2015. STR/AFP/Getty Images

News Analysis

China, as the fifth worst polluted nation in the world and Wuhan as its fourth most polluted city, appears to be more susceptible to the new coronavirus (formally named COVID-19) because air pollution levels increase rates of respiratory infections, according to various studies.