New Research on COVID-19 Aerosol Transmission

This week, a new study came out showing COVID-19 is getting better at spreading through the air. This should be on the radar of anyone who operates a commercial HVAC system, because building operators are responsible for making sure occupants have clean air to breathe.

A study published Tuesday in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases shows that coronavirus variants can be up to twice as contagious as the original strain of SARS-CoV-2 that caused the first wave of the pandemic.

Dr. Don Milton, the study’s supervisor, says, ” Our research indicates that the variants just keep getting better at travelling through the air, so we must provide better ventilation.” Milton notes that the study continues to demonstrate that the spread of COVID-19 is primarily through particles in the air.

“The take-home messages from this paper are that the coronavirus is getting better at being in your exhaled breath,” says Jennifer German, one of the study’s co-authors.

Canadian Study Investigates Variants

Another study published this week in the Canadian Medical Association Journal shows the majority (75%) of COVID cases in Canada right now are due to variants such as Delta.

The editor of the journal urges Canadian politicians to do more to encourage vaccination.

“Canada is battling a different pandemic from the one it faced in early 2020. The virus has become smarter and more dangerous, which means that we need to be smarter too,” says Dr. Kirsten Patrick.

Measures for Building Owners

The University of Maryland study’s authors also encourage better vaccination. They also recommend a host of other public health measures for people working indoors and in public-facing jobs. The main ones include:

Gasonic can help you make sure your indoor air is safe for occupants and visitors to your buildings. Set up a free 1-on-1 consultation with Kae by filling out this contact form.

You can also watch this video we made demonstrating our own research into cost-effective ways to keep COVID-19 out of the indoor air in your building.