COVID-19 AND ENVIRONMENTAL SITUATION IN PRIMORSKY KRAI

Aim. The purpose of this work is to analyze the incidence and mortality of the population of Primorsky Krai from COVID-19 and to identify its relationship with environmental factors characteristic of this territory. Analysis of the current state of the incidence of COVID-19 in the region allows one to identify “hot spots” of incidence, as well as the presence or absence of influence on the level of incidence of individual components of the environmental situation characteristic of the area under study. Methodology. We analyze the statistical information about the incidence and mortality of the population from COVID-19 on a monthly basis during 2020-2021 and in the context of municipal districts and urban entities; the mortality rates of the population of Primorsky Krai for certain classes of diseases and nosological forms during the pre-pandemic period and the beginning of the pandemic are studied. The main factors of ecological trouble on the territory of Primorsky Krai and the dynamics of individual polluting compounds in emissions into the atmosphere are identified; the economic component affecting the ecological situation is considered. Relationships between the morbidity and mortality rates of the population from COVID-19 at the beginning of the pandemic and the environmental situation in certain regions of the region are analyzed. Use is made of comparative-analytical, comparative-geographical, cartographic and graphical methods, as well as of the statistical analysis. To obtain an integral environmental indicator from the nth number of indicators measured in different units, the method for determining the coordinate (indicator) in the n-dimensional Euclidean space is used. Results. The incidence of COVID-19 in Primorsky Krai has been increasing since the beginning of 2020 and has had two peaks. They continued to increase in 2021, but people seem to be getting sicker in a milder form and the fatality rate from COVID-19 in 2021 does not exceed the figures for 2020. The incidence of COVID-19 in 2020 varied significantly from region to region. In 2020, there was also an increase in mortality compared to 2019 for a number of non-communicable diseases. The exacerbation of chronic somatic diseases of the population aggravated the course of COVID-19 in the region, which, in turn, indicates the impact of the pandemic on these diseases. The main directions of the negative impact of economic activity in the regions of Primorsky Krai on the health of the population are considered. The ecological state of the territory under consideration has remained unfavorable for many years due to the increase in the number of cars, their unsatisfactory technical condition and low quality of fuel. Comparing the data on environmental pollution in the regions of Primorsky Krai in 2020 with the incidence and mortality of COVID-19, it can be noted that no direct relationship between them has yet been found. However, in areas and cities with an unfavorable environmental situation, the incidence of COVID-19 was higher. At the same time, it should be noted that environmental factors, affecting human immunity, increase the susceptibility of the population to various diseases. During this period, all medical institutions in the region worked with great stress, and many small businesses were closed. The impact of the pandemic on certain sectors of the economy of Primirsky Krai, for example, tourism, recreation, and service sector can be traced quite clearly in these years. Research implications. The results of the study are of theoretical and practical importance, because they make it possible to assess some medical-geographical and epidemic features of the emergence and development of the COVID-19 pandemic in certain areas at regional and local levels, to identify and highlight the “hot spots” of the incidence of the population of Primorsky Krai in the context of districts and cities, and reveal some links between morbidity and the environment. Although a clear direct relationship between ecology and morbidity has not yet been traced, the relationship between the individual components of the ecological state of the territory and the levels of morbidity and mortality is obvious. It is noted mainly in cities and areas with high levels of air pollution, which increases the level of susceptibility of the human body to COVID-19. This fact is a recommendation for management structures to tighten the requirements and control of the purification of atmospheric emissions, as well as technical requirements for vehicles. The conducted research and the results obtained for Primorsky Krai are important for further theoretical developments and approaches to studying the causes of the emergence and development of a pandemic and its relationship with various environmental factors.

Primorsky Krai, cities and regions, COVID-19, morbidity, mortality, ecological state, pollution

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