Air conditioning appears to facilitate the spread of COVID-19

[SouthernCal_Dem]

Though some public health experts expected coronavirus transmission to wane in the summer as temperatures rise and the air becomes more humid, cases have actually skyrocketed in some of the hottest and stickiest parts of the country.

Engineers and ventilation experts said this may be in part because residents escape the heat by retreating indoors where heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems could exacerbate airborne transmission with unplanned air currents.

“The main way (air conditioning) can contribute to spreading coronavirus is by creating strong air currents that can move the droplets … and contribute to increase risk,” said William Bahnfleth, chair of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers’ Epidemic Task Force (ASHRAE) and professor at Penn State University.

Even in bars and restaurants where social distancing is observed, air ventilation can carry respiratory droplets or aerosols that contain virus, said Len Horovitz, pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2020/07/15/covid-air-conditioning-could-facilitate-coronavirus-airborne-spread/5429919002/

[HotTeaBag]

1. This. Will. Never. Be. Over.

With each passing day we (scientists) are learning something new and horrible about this disease and if feels like we will never get out from under it.

I can't even imagine what 1918-1919 was like, at least we have tremendous medical capacity - they had next to nothing.

[MichMan]

2. Probably need to prohibit air conditioning in public buildings if true

[Coventina]

6. Not possible. Our high today is 109. Tomorrow is 110. n/t

[LisaL]

7. Only if you want everybody to die from overheating.

[MichMan]

12. Not spreading it to others then

[LanternWaste]

14. Nuance can be difficult...

almost as difficult as basic cost/benefit analyses of a given action.

[DBoon]

3. Will HEPA filters help?

Can AC systems be modified to reduce the risk?

[soothsayer]

4. Yes that's what Cuomo's trying

But most ac units aren’t designed for that

[LisaL]

8. They can be modified, but still it will only filter the air that gets to the filter.

It will likely pass by people before it gets to the filter.

[Merlot]

17. Does wearing masks help?

[Peregrine Took]

5. As with Legionnaires' disease - indoor fountains, etc - helped spread it. n/t

[Ms. Toad]

9. That's been known since early on . . .

When a disease is communicated by droplets/aerosolized droplets, anything that moves it farther than it would otherwise go will increase transmission.

[superpatriotman]

10. Some say...

UV lights can kill many airborne viruses and contaminants in AC systems. We have an inexpensive one ($150) in ours, but have considered upgrading to a $1000 unit.

[phylny]

15. Can you tell us more about this?

Thank you!

[LeftInTX]

18. Our UV light kills mold and bacteria in the line

It's to keep the unit from clogging with slime. (For maintenance of the unit) No claims were ever made about is clearing mold and bacteria in the air. I wouldn't trust it to kill coronavirus

CV does well in AC because the air is recirculated.

[Tumbulu]

11. Well this is a duh sort of thing- who the heck had not already figured this out?

People got into empty elevators and got it, there was a published study of AC unfits spreading it in a restaurant - why wouldn’t it be spread inside by AC’s?

I am beyond frustrated with people not taking this seriously. This is why offices were shut down in the first place, IMO, because of recirculated air inside buildings.

And talking about opening schools that have old unit is that just recirculate the inside air because it is more energy efficient?

I am so tired of realizing that the same gun nuts who run roughshod over good people everywhere have down played this pandemic, refuse to wear masks inside and demand proof before acting on something as utterly commonsensical as this.

Yet another reason that masks must be worn, and people should not be inside buildings that have shared ventilation systems for very long. The only silver lining is that engineers will begin making changes on sytems because this is only the first of many waves of pandemics.

[uponit7771]

13. Makes sense, they didn't have wide use AC in early 20 century

[GulfCoast66]

19. They had no AC. Not saying they did not exist. Not sure.

But no one had them.

Hell, here in the south many people did not have power. Mother did not get it till her late teens in the 50. They weren’t considered poor caused they owned land. But there was no infrastructure. It was only with the REA that many rural Americans got power.

[wiggs]

16. Officials, most of them, are walking a fine line...trying not to scare everyone into

hibernation so that the economy can chunk along. Part of that involves not being fully honest with people about all the risks. This may serve the country as a whole in some fashion but does not serve individuals well who need to protect themselves as they choose.

Of course, if people know that offices, interior spaces, homes of friends, shops, schools, grocery stores, etc are where you can re-breath the air that everyone in the room before you exhaled out...then more people would be scared sh*tless and would stay home. They would rather that most people go to work and spend money than deal with the minority of people who go out and then get very sick.