Who is at higher risk of developing the covid-19 ?
Traveling has been and remains a major risk factor. In the initial phase of the pandemic, travellers in general and travellers to Asia, Europe, USA as the disease spread were most at risk, whether travelling by plane, boat, car or else. At the moment, as traveling has been largely reduced, this does not account for a large proportion of cases anymore but as crossing borders eventually resumes, it may again be responsible for a large number of cases. In fact, the mere visit to an airport or train station is likely to be a significant risk factor with no requirements to take the plane. The sociosanitary conditions in which you live could be a risk factor. Data must be corrected for population density and are available on CBC website
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/numbers-covid-19-coronavirus-quebec-april-1-1.5518397.
Living in a high-density city is higher risk than living in the country.
Living in a high-density dwelling (like apartment towers with shared elevators and spaces) is higher risk than low-density dwelling (single home).
Sharing a dormitory or sleeping area like university students, firemen, military personal and seasonal farming workers do, increases time of exposure and likelihood of catching the virus.
As everyone is now aware, the highest chances of having an infection was among those living in CHSLD both due to their medical conditions that lead to living there as well as to the shared ventilation, shared caregivers, and shared spaces where they spend most of the day unfortunately facilitating spread of disease. To a lesser degree in private senior homes, there is an increase probability of infection and severe infections for the same reasons. Those living in CHSLD and private senior homes account for 80% of the COVID-19-related death toll.
Being a healthcare worker, especially if personal protective measures fail is associated with an increased chance of the disease. Healthcare workers account for 20% of all cases (Montreal Gazette, May 13, 2020, Jason Magder).
Living in the same household as an individual known to have COVID-19 is associated with 1 in 9 (11%) chance of being infected (Qifang Bi Lancet infectious Disease Q Bi 2020 Epidemiology and transmission of COVID-19 in 391 cases and their 1286 of their close contacts in Shenzhen, China: a retrospective cohort study. From the same study, spending much time with an infected individual carries a 1 chance out of 8 (13%) of being infected too. Sharing a meal with an infected individual is associated with 1 chance out of 11 (9%) of developing the infection.
Pollution and respiratory irritants from wildfires as currently occurring on the Western American Coast have not yet been studied as risk factors for COVID but are known to cause airway inflammation, likely increasing vulnerability to the virus.
Smoking whether cigarette, cigar, sheesha, pot increases the chance of infection. You may decrease smoking. For more information, contact Tobacco free Quebec https://tobaccofreequebec.ca/iquitnow/registration/step1
You may decrease secondary smoke for those sharing the same dwelling.
page 05
Katéri Champagne, internal and pneumological medical specialist, epidemiologist, Diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine, Quebec, Canada, september 14 2020, full diffusion allowed.