Experts: To Slow the Spread of COVID-19, Focus on Air Ventilation and Filtration

Campus Safety 

Robin Hattersley-Grey

November 23, 2020

Scientists now say disinfecting surfaces does little to reduce the transmission of the coronavirus.

Although campuses have been soaping, wiping and fumigating surfaces to fight the coronavirus for months now, increasingly, scientists say there is little or no evidence these efforts keep COVID-19 from spreading.

That’s because the virus is primarily spread by infected people who exhale, talk, sing, cough or sneeze in crowded indoor spaces, reports the New York Times. Experts are now encouraging organizations to focus more on improving ventilation and the filtration of indoor air.

“In my opinion, a lot of time, energy and money is being wasted on surface disinfection and, more importantly, diverting attention and resources away from preventing airborne transmission,” Dr. Kevin P. Fennelly, a respiratory infection specialist with the U.S. National Institutes of Health, told the NYT.

I discussed the importance of campuses taking a closer look at their indoor air quality and ventilation systems in my blog a few weeks back.

The fact that COVID-19 usually is transmitted when someone talks, sneezes, coughs or even just breathes drives home the importance of everyone wearing facial coverings and social distancing until we get the coronavirus under control.

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