A/HRC/45/12 per cent of emerging infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, originate in animals,16 moving from the wild to humans, illustrating now more than ever the critical need to enhance protection of the environment to protect human rights. Alarmingly, at this rate, the humanmediated introduction of infectious disease and vectors, referred to as “pathogen pollution”, is expected to continue to increase through further expansion of global travel and trade.17 17. Most States did not take early warnings to heart, as deforestation, biodiversity collapse, climate change, wildlife trade and other environmental concerns remain at critical levels across much of the world. Now we see the preventable results of ignoring these warnings: as at mid-September, close to 30 million cases of infection resulting in more than 940,000 deaths.18 Unemployment and economic collapse that could have been mitigated through sincere, early efforts to prevent exposure, are now costing countries billions of dollars each day, 98 per cent of which could have been entirely avoided by some estimates.19 These impacts are due to States failing to prevent exposure to the COVID-19 virus at the earliest point when preventive measures could have been undertaken. 18. As cases escalate, it has become increasingly clear that “people of any age with certain underlying medical conditions are at increased risk for severe illness from COVID19”. 20 An important consideration is that the pre-existing health conditions referred to appear to be diseases and disabilities linked to an unhealthy environment, including at the workplace, and toxic exposures from consumer products. Diseases linked to exposure to hazardous substances, such as pollutants, pesticides, toxic chemicals in consumer products and wastes, include: kidney disease; respiratory illnesses, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary fibrosis and asthma; an immunocompromised state, such as those caused by therapies for environmental and occupational cancers; obesity; heart disease; hypertension or high blood pressure; and type 2 diabetes. 21 19. An unhealthy environment can cause or contribute to nearly all of the pre-existing and underlying health conditions that make one extremely vulnerable to COVID-19. Air pollution, for example, causes and contributes to respiratory and cardiovascular problems that significantly increase the risk of life-threatening cases of COVID-19, mortality and overall vulnerability. 22 Health officials and researchers have called for air pollution reduction following previous outbreaks of zoonotic diseases. 23 Asbestos inhalation causes debilitating respiratory diseases leading to deaths in workers and communities from COVID-19, but so too do the treatments for diseases caused by asbestos exposure, which can result in an immunocompromised state. Chronic exposure to toxic chemicals at home in food, water, air and consumer products, including certain plastics, increase the risk of developing non-communicable diseases that make individuals more vulnerable to death or serious illness from COVID-19. Similarly, exposure to toxic chemicals that affect the normal functioning of hormone systems, particularly in unborn and young children, increase the likelihood of obesity and diabetes and other health conditions later in life that can elevate the risk of death from COVID-19.24 20. Inequality in socioeconomic conditions among various communities further accentuates the impacts of toxic exposures on victims. As described further below, people living in vulnerable situations, including low-income population groups, minorities and 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 6 See https://environmentlive.unep.org/media/docs/assessments/UNEP_Frontiers_2016_ report_emerging_issues_of_environmental_concern.pdf. See www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK215318/. See https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html. See https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6502/379. See www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-with-medicalconditions.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019ncov%2Fneed-extra-precautions%2Fgroups-at-higher-risk.html. Ibid. See www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969720321215 and www.theguardian.com/ world/2020/aug/13/study-of-covid-deaths-in-england-is-latest-to-find-air-pollution-link. See www.who.int/gard/publications/The_Global_Impact_of_Respiratory_Disease.pdf. See https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/78102/WHO_HSE_PHE_ IHE_2013.1_eng.pdf?sequence=1.