Can Air Conditioning Spread COVID-19? Probably Not
▻https://www.healthline.com/health-news/can-air-conditioning-spread-covid-19-probably-not
The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) says it’s concerned about the possibility of #aerosol transmission of COVID-19.
So, it has set up its own pandemic task force with industry scientists looking at the data.
William P. Bahnfleth, PhD, PE, is a professor of engineering at the Pennsylvania State University and chair of the ASHRAE Epidemic Task Force.
Bahnfleth points to an analysis of the restaurant study that found there was no outdoor air supply in the restaurant and that window exhaust fans were not operating.
It concluded that “Aerosol transmission of #SARS-CoV-2 due to poor ventilation may explain the community spread of #COVID-19.”
“A well-functioning air conditioning system in the #restaurant that actively provided the appropriate amount of ventilation and had good filters for particulate matter would have greatly lowered the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 in the air, perhaps to the point that fewer diners would have contracted COVID-19,” Bahnfleth told Healthline.
Meanwhile, Bahnfleth says ASHRAE is advising its members to:
consider bringing in more outside air or opening windows upgrade filters in air conditioning systems control airflow directions in a building to move from clean to less clean follow the recommendations of the CDC and others regarding physical distancing and hygiene
