Scientists discovered that COVID-19 can spread more than two meters in a poorly-ventilated room. Because of the alarming finding, the researchers developed a new tool that can calculate the transmission risk of the novel coronavirus in places with poor ventilation.
A "prone team," wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), prepares to turn a COVID-19 patient onto his stomach in a Stamford Hospital intensive care unit (ICU), on April 24, 2020 in Stamford, Connecticut. The civilian/military team, made up of physical and occupational therapists turns over COVID-19 patients to help their labored breathing and increase lung capacity. Stamford Hospital, like many across the US, opened additional ICUs and have been augmented by military medical personnel to deal with the heavy patient load.
According to Science Daily's latest report, the medical researchers explained that in poorly-ventilated places, people are more likely to get infected when they are just talking than through coughing.
The study's results were published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society A. The new research also revealed that social distancing has no bearing inside a poorly-ventilated place since people inhale the same air.
Right now, the researchers are working on a new tool that could help the public know COVID-19's transmission risk in a room with a poor or no ventilation system.
The new COVID-19 tool
Live Mint's reported that the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London's researchers were the ones who developed the new tool. They said that the vast majority of coronavirus cases are spread through the indoor transmission.
Commuters wearing face masks make their way to work on March 26, 2020 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike held a press conference last night to request citizens to refrain from going outside this weekend for nonessential reasons after 41 cases of new coronavirus infections were confirmed yesterday. She warned that Tokyo, one of the largest and most densely populated cities on earth, could face a lockdown if there is a surge in new coronavirus cases.
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People can get infected via droplets or aerosols. Although the experts said that social distancing can't decrease infection in poorly-ventilated rooms, they said that wearing masks can somehow reduce the infections. Why? Because they can slow the breath's momentum and filter a portion of the exhaled droplets.
The team also used mathematical models to reveal how the SARS-CoV-2 virus spreads in different indoor spaces. They based the models on the place's occupancy, size, ventilation, and whether people are wearing masks.
How the new tool works
The new tool is called Airborne.cam. It is an open-source tool that helps users understand how safety measures, such as ventilation, affect the risk of indoor transmission. The innovation can also calculate the risk changes over time.
Anyone can use the new COVID-19 tool since it is offered for free. Airborne.cam can be used by the people who are managing workplaces, shops, classrooms, and other public places.
"The tool can help people use fluid mechanics to make better choices, and adapt their day-to-day activities and surroundings in order to suppress risk, both for themselves and for others," said Savvas Gkantonas, the study's co-author, via Live Mint.
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Written by: Giuliano de Leon.
