We are living in a critical moment, unprecedented in the last hundred years in the country. And we know that the only way to control COVID-19 (Coronavirus) known to date is to restrict movement and contact between people to avoid overwhelm the Health System. The data from the WHO – World Health Organization – is alarming and counts 200 thousand infected people with 8 thousand deaths worldwide. In the State of São Paulo, the disease is advancing considerably. From one day to the next, the increase reaches more than 45% in confirmed records. We are facing a pandemic.
I would like to make an important point first, because in order to understand how and why the proliferation of this virus is occurring on an exponential scale, it is important to realize how we are living in an increasingly connected and interconnected world.
Among the most important references that prove this context is the theory of Six Degrees of Separation, which was discovered by psychologist Stanley Milgran in the 1960s through samples of letters sent by mail in the USA. In the early 2000s, the same test was redone by physicist-mathematician Duncan Watts, using emails, and it was shown that we are separated from each other by up to six people. In the age of Social Networks, Watts himself measured that we reach four degrees of separation, so this concept shows the risk and the level of exposure we are at.
Returning to the point, the most severe cases occur in people with pre-existing conditions, some of which are due to respiratory problems. The risk group includes those with some kind of lung function deficit, including individuals with bronchitis and asthma. And there is a very sensitive side to this whole situation, which happens in our daily lives at home.
One of the main causes of respiratory diseases is the presence of mold on walls, due to issues related to the lack of waterproofing. Experts have warned many times about this social susceptibility and how mold can cause, and considerably worsen, respiratory allergies, leading to very serious complications.
According to the WHO, chronic respiratory diseases are the third leading cause of death in Brazil, behind only cardiovascular problems and cancer. Another alarming fact is that the 4th leading cause of hospitalizations by the SUS – Unified Health System – is related to respiratory diseases and of these 35% are directly linked to contact with mold and other pathologies to which people are exposed in their homes.
Pandemics like the one we are facing force us to face new ways of living and producing, since the ultimate order is social distancing, even isolation. We are experiencing economic reorganizations with the possibility of new work structures, such as the Home Office, working from home.
From this moment on, nothing will be the same again because we are also experiencing innovations that may be linked to productivity issues in some roles. It is, in fact, a revolution in the way we work and move around in the world, as we will also need to adapt to our children's schools, for example, both public and private, which have adopted government measures and closed their activities for a period of time.
All of these measures to avoid crowds and personal contact are essential to slow the spread of the virus and prevent an even greater catastrophe. But at this point, how about we go further? How about we take a systemic look at the problem? This is a great opportunity to pay attention and finally resolve issues that are sensitive to society and that end up worsening the chaos.
In addition to the numbers of health problems, we need to look at another health issue: housing. According to the Social Impact Thesis on Housing produced by Artemísia in partnership with Gerdau, Tigre, Votorantim Cimentos and our Vedacit Institute, around 11 million homes are unsanitary.
According to the João Pinheiro Foundation, this number could be even higher, reaching 16 million homes and families living in inadequate housing conditions every day. A large part of these numbers are linked to the low-income population, which already has difficulty accessing a series of services, so we can imagine the severity and depth of the virus's spread.
This whole scenario brings us to a very important reflection that has been little discussed: how much we need to worry about the health of our homes, how much is the well-being of our residences worth? It can indeed save our lives. We need to look at the quality of our living environments so that we can adequately protect ourselves from scenarios like the one we face today.
At this time, it is essential to keep our homes clean and airy, but that is not the only important thing; it is also important to ensure that our homes are well-structured, as we will face more humid and rainy weather, which can further aggravate the health of our buildings, thus putting our families at greater risk. Protection must be as complete as possible to be truly effective.
