How Greenspaces are Used, and Not How Much is Available, is a Critical Pathway Connecting Greenspaces to Resilience Against COVID-19 Infection and Severity

There is growing evidence of the benefits of greenspaces to humans in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the mechanisms of these benefits remain elusive. Here, we aimed to fill this gap by collecting relevant data on ~1400 residents across South Africa, and then fitted structural equation models. We found that infection rates and severity are significantly lower among people who use greenspaces for physical activity, suggesting that the level of greenness exposure is an important pathway connecting greenness to human resilience. We also found that age, education levels and people’s perceptions of greenspaces rather than greenspaces provision predict greenness exposure. Finally, we found that wealthy people are more likely to be infected and hospitalized alongside people with comorbidity whilst younger and educated people are more likely to be admitted to ICU. Overall, our study identifies the pathways linking greenspaces to human resilience against COVID-19.

越来越多的研究证据表明，在新冠疫情（COVID-19 pandemic）大流行背景下，绿色空间（greenspaces）对人类健康具有诸多益处。然而，此类益处背后的具体作用机制仍不甚明晰。本研究旨在填补这一研究空白：我们收集了南非境内约1400名居民的相关调研数据，并构建结构方程模型（structural equation models）开展分析。研究结果显示，经常利用绿色空间进行身体活动的人群，其新冠感染率与病情严重程度均显著更低，这提示绿色空间暴露水平是连接绿色空间与人类新冠应对韧性的关键途径。此外，我们还发现，影响居民绿色空间暴露水平的核心因素并非区域内绿色空间的配置供给状况，而是居民的年龄、受教育程度以及对绿色空间的主观认知。进一步分析表明，合并共病（comorbidity）的群体与高收入人群更易发生感染并需住院治疗；而年轻群体及受教育程度较高者则更有可能被收入重症监护室（intensive care unit, ICU）。综上，本研究明确了绿色空间与人类对抗新冠疫情的韧性之间的作用传导路径。