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.