Can Air Conditioning Spread the Coronavirus?

Lockdown is implemented to help prevent the further spread of the coronavirus. If a person needs to come out, they should practice social distancing because he can also get infected if droplets from a person infected with the virus were inhaled by him. 

Apart from that, people that are going out of their houses to buy necessities are advised to wear face masks, although they prefer that people wear reusable cloth masks because disposable masks are better to be used by the frontline healthcare professionals. For better protection, click here so that you would know what fabric is best used for home-made masks. 

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Can Air Conditioning Spread the Coronavirus?

How Does the Coronavirus Spread? 

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the coronavirus can be spread through small droplets that are expelled from people's nose and mouth when they sneeze, cough, talk, or exhale. The droplets would land on surfaces or objects and then when a person touches those objects and touches his eyes, nose, or mouth, the person gets infected. 

It is not yet sure whether the virus can be transmitted through the air but it could be possible in healthcare settings where the staff has to be in close contact with patients that are infected and that is the reason why medical staff needs personal protective equipment (PPE). 

Aerosols can travel up to ten meters because of their small size. According to an infectious disease expert and Professor in Medicine at the University of East Anglia, Professor Paul Hunter, even though droplets can move through the air, they are not airborne. By airborne, he meant that the virus could stay for a long period and travel to longer distances. 

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Coughing can cause droplets to spread into the air.

Can Air Conditioning Spread the Coronavirus? 

In Guangzhou, China, a study was done in an air-conditioned restaurant and they found that among 83 customers, 10 became ill to the virus, and the 73 were quarantined for 14 days. This shows that the people that were infected were likely to have close contact and that strong airflow from the air conditioning could have helped propagate the virus. 

Another study was done regarding the case of the Diamond Princess cruise ship wherein 700 people contracted the virus. Professor Hunter told HuffPost that the people that were infected did not get the coronavirus when they were quarantined in their rooms. 

What to Do in Air Conditioned Areas?

A virologist from the University of Leicester, Dr. Julian Tang said that even though more research is needed, we should assume that airborne transmission of the coronavirus is possible unless proven otherwise, so it would be better to take precautions rather than get infected. 

Prof Hunter said that facilities managers should turn the volume of airflow down because the spread is faster especially in crowded, indoor environments. Some studies recommend to increase ventilation, reduce the volume of people in the area, and not to recirculate air to help prevent the further spread of the virus. 

In case a reduction in the number of people is impossible and ventilation is inadequate, experts' advice is to wear masks and respirators.