According to the latest statics from the Italian National Health Institute, the average age of those who have died in Italy from Covid-19 was 81, 80 per cent of whom had two or more chronic diseases. Less than one per cent of fatalities were those who were previously healthy.

Furthermore, Northern Italy has one of the oldest populations and also the highest air pollution level in Europe. As a comparison, London is the third most polluted capital city in Europe.

According to the Royal College of Physicians, 40,000 people in the UK a year die of the effects of air pollution. In other words, in the first three months of this year 10,000 people in the UK have died.

As this Government have taken so few steps to reduce air pollution, this would have happened whether there had been the coronavirus pandemic or not.

Let’s hope that, after the coronavirus epidemic, this Government actually takes decisive steps to combat air pollution – improving public transport and cycling, which would have the added bonus of creating a healthier population in the long term, thus lessening the burden on the NHS.

Unfortunately, I am not too sure if this would be the case. In his budget speech, Rishi Sunak when talking about transport, forgot to mention cycling. He did also manage to mention climate change and road building in one breath. I don’t recall anyone in the media picking up on this irony.

What could happen, hopefully, is that the increased number of cyclists on the roads due to lockdown will also translate into a greater lobby for better cycling conditions and less congested streets.

Phil Fletcher

Sopwell Lane, St Albans