Open AWE Magazine menu
Subscribe Login

Home / Articles and Press Releases / Article / Improving Building Ventilation to Combat Covid-19 in the Winter Months

CATEGORIES

  • Latest Issue
  • Air Quality
  • Chromatography
  • Construction
  • Climate Change
  • Emissions
  • Environmental & Monitoring Technology
  • Gas Detection
  • Health and Safety Awareness
  • Humidity & Temperature
  • Laboratory Testing
  • Land Remediation
  • Marine Pollution
  • Noise Monitoring
  • Regulations & Legislations
  • Sludge and Biosolids
  • Soil Analysis
  • Spectroscopy
  • Weather Monitoring
  • Water Analysis
  • Water Monitoring

MORE

  • Press Releases
  • Events
  • Videos
  • Magazines

COMPANY

  • About
  • Advertising
  • Newsletter
  • Contact
HSI White logo
Open AWE Magazine menu
Subscribe

Home / Articles and Press Releases / Article / Improving Building Ventilation to Combat Covid-19 in the Winter Months

CATEGORIES

  • Latest Issue
  • Air Quality
  • Chromatography
  • Construction
  • Climate Change
  • Emissions
  • Environmental & Monitoring Technology
  • Gas Detection
  • Health and Safety Awareness
  • Humidity & Temperature
  • Laboratory Testing
  • Land Remediation
  • Marine Pollution
  • Noise Monitoring
  • Regulations & Legislations
  • Sludge and Biosolids
  • Soil Analysis
  • Spectroscopy
  • Weather Monitoring
  • Water Analysis
  • Water Monitoring

MORE

  • Press Releases
  • Events
  • Videos
  • Magazines

COMPANY

  • About
  • Advertising
  • Newsletter
  • Contact

CATEGORIES

  • Heat and Flame
  • Press Release|Gas Detection
  • Article
  • Press Release
  • Air Quality
  • Chromatography
  • Construction
  • Climate Change
  • Emissions
  • Environmental & Monitoring Technology
  • Gas Detection
  • Health and Safety Awareness
  • Humidity & Temperature
  • Laboratory Testing
  • Land Remediation
  • Marine Pollution
  • Noise Monitoring
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Regulations & Legislations
  • Sludge and Biosolids
  • Soil Analysis
  • Spectroscopy
  • Weather Monitoring
  • Water Analysis
  • Water Monitoring
  • Wellbeing at work

Article

Improving Building Ventilation to Combat Covid-19 in the Winter Months

By Gabriel Wainer, Carleton University

| Read Bio

Published: January 12th, 2021

Share this article

The risk of transmitting COVID-19 is much higher indoors due to proximity to other people and building ventilation systems. (Shutterstock)

Gabriel Wainer, Carleton University

As predicted, we are in the middle of second wave of COVID-19. As of Dec. 23, the world has seen over 78 million confirmed cases and 1.7 million deaths.

One of the few successes to emerge has been the creation of COVID-19 vaccines in record time. But vaccination will not provide immediate relief.

There are many unanswered questions about the efficacy of the vaccines. For instance, vaccine studies mostly tracked how many of the individuals that were vaccinated became sick. It is not known if the vaccinated individuals can still carry the virus asymptomatically; vaccinated people don’t show symptoms, but some may continue to have virus in the nose and throat that can replicate and spread. We also do not know about the chances of reinfection or long-term immunity.

Infection with COVID-19 comes with a risk of death and puts strain on our health-care system, but there is also a risk of long-term health effects. The bottom line is that we cannot let our guard down: we need to continue wearing masks, keep our physical distance, wash our hands, and avoid crowds and indoor events in poor ventilated areas.

As the vaccine is distributed, we might find ourselves relaxing our guard before it is safe to do so. And as the weather grows increasingly colder, reducing our options for outdoor activities and gatherings, we need to consider how the disease spreads indoors and the importance of ventilation.

Avoiding crowded indoors

The evidence for aerosol transmission is overwhelming. Three of the most important factors that determine the risk of exposure are proximity to people, duration of the exposure and the quality of the air. When the three are combined, the risk is higher, as seen in numerous superspreader events.


Read more: A few superspreaders transmit the majority of coronavirus cases


COVID-19 spreads through inhalation of the virus. An infected person breathes out aerosols that can remain suspended in the air for up to three hours. Transmission indoors can be around 20 times higher than outdoors.

We have to think about SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 spreading like cigarette second-hand smoking in a closed space. Imagine being indoors where smoking is permitted: the exhaled smoke can spread in poorly ventilated spaces. The amount of particles inhaled close to the source is higher, but, with time, the smoke will fill the whole room and everybody will breathe the contaminated air.

Indoor transmission by aerosols has been recognized by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Public Health Agency of Canada. The World Health Organization recommends avoiding indoor spaces whenever possible and ensuring proper ventilation in the fight against COVID-19.

We need to take these recommendations seriously during the holiday season: we need to reduce the number of close contacts, in particular in indoor settings, wear masks and ventilate the rooms.

Modelling ventilation indoors

At present, my research team is interested in different aspects of indoor ventilation. We are combining building information modelling and indoor viral spread models to study different strategies to return to indoor gatherings and address potential future outbreaks.

One example we used was the site of a COVID-19 outbreak associated with the use of air conditioning in a restaurant in Guangzhou, China. We showed how the airflow produced by the ventilation system affected 10 different individuals. Our team used the floor plans of the restaurant and built a model that can easily be adapted for different factors, such as different positioning of the ventilation sources. https://www.youtube.com/embed/QZfevexabPk?wmode=transparent&start=0 A video showing different models of aerosol diffusion through ventilation in a restaurant in Guangzhou, China.

Modelling and simulating indoor ventilation is important: we need to find out which factors — like circulating fresh air or using high-quality air filters — are likely to reduce transmission risk. Simulated virtual environments can be quite informative, as it’s not possible to run experiments with people and COVID-19.

In addition, there is limited information about how infectious SARS-CoV-2 is. Although we know that people shed different amounts of the virus, we don’t know how much virus someone has to inhale to become sick. Using a simulated virtual environment can be useful to conduct different experiments.

The models we constructed allow us to study different scenarios. For instance, we include different types of fabric used for the masks by different individuals as well as the different fitting positions of the masks, which can influence the amount of virus transmitted or inhaled. https://www.youtube.com/embed/9D6nE-eY9js?wmode=transparent&start=0 Using a game to study the effects of mask-wearing.

The building models can easily adjust different factors for analysis, such as different physical arrangements of people (and their relative physical distance), various ventilation methods, a range of air qualities and even the use of portable HEPA filters to reduce the probability of being infected.

And now that there are vaccines, we’ll need to factor in how the vaccination process will affect disease transmission. https://www.youtube.com/embed/7zkrVQy45M4?wmode=transparent&start=0 Integrating a simulation model with a Geographical Information System showing the spread of COVID-19 in Ontario.

In the meantime, we need to remain vigilant, and focus on the social aspects of the pandemic: online misinformation, social behaviours and public health communication strategies. These are important for all air-transmitted diseases (seasonal flu, colds), including any future pandemics.

Gabriel Wainer, Professor, Systems and Computer Engineering, Carleton University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Share this article

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gabriel Wainer, Carleton University

POPULAR POSTS BY Gabriel Wainer, Carleton University

Article

Improving Building Ventilation to Combat Covid-19 in the Winter Months

Get email updates

Sign up for the AWE newsletter

Keep up-to-date through the power of email and receive the latest environmental monitoring product information and newsletter emails from AWE - Monitoring and Analysing the Impact of Industry on the Environment

"*" indicates required fields

Country
*
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

FEATURED ARTICLES

Press Release

Blackline Safety and NevadaNano Reach Milestone in Deployment of Industry-First Sensors

Press Release

The Benefits of Using Refurbished Parts in Your Lab

Advertisement

SOCIAL MEDIA

AWE on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/AWEIMagazine/

Advertisement

SOCIAL MEDIA

AWE on Twitter

Retweet on Twitter AWE International Magazine Retweeted
Avatar Avantes @avanteshq ·
1 Feb

Meet the next-generation spectrometer, the #Pacto!
This versatile and powerful device, available in three configurations, is sure to revolutionize the world of #spectroscopy.

Click the link to discover the Pacto: https://www.avantes.com/news/pacto-spectrometer-release/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZJXb-ZN4WY

Reply on Twitter 1620703609657909248 Retweet on Twitter 1620703609657909248 1 Like on Twitter 1620703609657909248 2 Twitter 1620703609657909248

Advertisement

SUBSCRIBE

Stay up to date with our newsletter

    • Keep up-to-date with Europe’s largest audited environmental monitoring magazine

 

    • Delivering the latest information on new products and emerging technologies related to industrial environmental monitoring.

 

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Subscribe

SUBSCRIBE TO AWE MAGAZINE

5 reasons to subscribe to our digital and print package

  • Stay up to date from anywhere in the world, with instant access to the latest issue straight from your phone, tablet or laptop.
  • Trust that you’re getting the best content from our range of internationally accredited authors.
  • Get full access to our archives and see how the environmental monitoring landscape has evolved with us over the years.
  • Enjoy our monthly newsletter curated with up-to-the-minute news and a selection of editor’s top picks.
  • Hot off the press and straight to your door – look forward to your own glossy copy of AWE, delivered five times a year
Subscribe View Subscription levels

STAY SAFE & INFORMED

Subscribe to the latest environmental monitoring articles, news, products and regulations

Find out more

Stay up to date with our newsletter

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

ABOUT

  • About AWE
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us

YOUR ACCOUNT

Sign In Register Account Subscribe to AWE

RESOURCES

Request Media Pack

CONNECT

ACCREDITATIONS

Copyright Bay Publishing 2023. All Rights reserved.

Designed & Built by:
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT