Is your office safe? Scientists agree that the vast majority of COVID-19 cases are transmitted indoors, either through aerosols or droplets. Poorly ventilated spaces are a haven for the coronavirus, as in just a few seconds it can spread more than two meters and it is more than likely to spread through prolonged conversations than just coughing.
To shed some light on this delicate matter, a team of researchers from the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London (UK) have quantified the role of ventilation in the spread of COVID-19 infection and are doing so. transferring to a free application, still under development, that will be used to calculate the risk of transmission indoors.
The study shows that social distancing measures alone do not provide adequate protection against the virus and further emphasize the vital importance of ventilation and face masks in slowing the spread of COVID-19.
The experts used mathematical models to show how SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, spreads in different indoor spaces, depending on size, occupancy, ventilation, and whether or not masks are being worn. These models are also the basis for a free online tool, Airborne.cam, which helps users understand how ventilation and other measures affect the risk of indoor transmission and how that risk changes over time.
Anyone can use this open source tool to find out the level of risk they are taking while in a room of virtually any size or type. For each set of parameters s, the tool generates a graph showing the possibility of infection over a set period of time, with the default being 09:00 to 17:00. For now it works in a web version, but will soon be available as an app on all mobile platforms.
As part of their research, the scientists found that two people who converse freely in a poorly ventilated space without wearing a mask pose a higher risk of infection than if one of them coughs . As we speak, we breathe out smaller droplets, or aerosols, that easily spread across a room and accumulate if ventilation is not adequate. In contrast, coughing expels larger droplets, which are more likely to settle on surfaces after emission.
“The role of turbulence and how it affects which droplets settle by gravity and which remain afloat in the air, in particular, is not well understood yet. We hope that these and other new results will be implemented as safety factors in application to as we continue to investigate, “added Epaminondas Mastorakos, co-author of the paper published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society A.
“Our knowledge of the airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 has evolved at an incredible rate, considering that it has only been a year since the virus was identified ,” said Pedro de Oliveira, from the Cambridge Department of Engineering. , and study leader.
Referencia: P. M. de Oliveira et al. ‘Evolution of spray and aerosol from respiratory releases: theoretical estimates for insight on viral transmission.’ Proceedings of the Royal Society A (2021). DOI: 10.1098/rspa.2020.0584
