Covid-19 Pandemic: Year-By-Year Indoor Assessment of PM2.5 Indices of Built Envelopes in Egbeada Housing Estate, Imo State

There has been a lot of discuss on particulate matter and its impact on human health. Of immense concern is its propensity to cause and trigger cardiac, pneumonic and bronchial ailments on occupants after long and sustained exposure. The lockdown scenario necessitated by the outbreak of the Sars-Cov-2 virus in 2019 seemed to exacerbate spike of PM2.5 indices in livable units. This study was designed to understudy the impact of the PM2.5 pollutant necessitated by lockdown policy directives on occupants living in Egbeada Federal Housing Estate, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria. The study employed a year-by-year assessment of PM2.5  readings of living units during and after the lockdown scenario. These readings, captured with particulate matter monitor PCE-RCM 05, served as major data extrapolated from living units that were selected through purposive sampling techniques. Cohort analysis was used to analyze data collated between March 2020 and December, 2021 to extract information of PM2.5 indices in all identified sections of the estate. Data visualization was also employed to show how particulate matter was distributed during and after the lockdown period while observations yielded real-time relationship between PM2.5 indices and occupant density (OcD). Results showed that PM2.5 indices spiked during the lockdown period and gradually assumed a flatline after the lockdown scenarios. To this end, it is advised, among other recommendations, that further research should be directed towards patenting poaceae and gramineae that have phytovolatilization capacity which can be adopted as bioremediation inclusions in planning and
building regulations.