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- David Shockman
- Scientific Affairs Editor
A doctor working for the British Public Health Service says that the mere thought of people keeping their windows tightly “makes his head explode in anger.”
According to a prominent engineer, he embarrasses his family in restaurants by “wandering around windows trying to bring in fresh air”.
They are part of a growing group of doctors and experts concerned about how the Corona virus builds up in crowded rooms, and they say officials should stress the importance of getting in the fresh air, especially in winter when people congregate indoors.
What’s going on?
Dr Ellier Hughes, who runs a clinic in North Wales, says the government’s call for “hand washing, face covering and social distancing” is not working enough.
This call appears as a slogan on the platform Prime Minister Boris Johnson uses to deliver his brief statements outside Downing Street, which gives it great importance, but Dr Hughes, who has been known as ” Doctor of Fresh Air “because of his campaign on this issue – believes the slogan should be This becomes:” wash hands, social distance, cover face and replace air “.
And he says replacing the stale air in rooms with fresh air from outside can significantly reduce the risk of infection.
The Isle of Anglesey Town Hall in Wales is believed to be the first in the UK to display signs with the slogan consisting of four words instead of three.
Dr Hughes says the new post has caught the world’s attention.
“I say to people: May this year’s Christmas presents be fresh air.”
The English four word slogan to fight the coronavirus
What does science say?
At the start of the pandemic, authorities focused on what was believed to be the most likely route of contagion. One of them, the risk of touching a contaminated surface, hence the long-standing guidelines for frequent hand washing.
The other way is to get infected with the droplets that come from the mouth of a person close to the person by sneezing or coughing, which led to a social distancing recommendation being issued over a distance of at least two meters, and then to wear face masks.
But the possibility of a third route of transmission – through small virus particles that get stuck like garbage (dust) in the air – is now widely accepted and accepted.
This was brought up by health advisers to the UK government earlier this year and has been endorsed by the World Health Organization.
In recent days, US officials have gone further, saying: “It is believed that inhaling droplets and aerosols dispersed in the air is the main method of spreading the virus.”
And “to face this danger, hand washing, social distancing and wearing masks do not guarantee a complete defense against infection with the virus.”
Do you Speak Open windows make the difference virtually؟
The answer is yes, Sean Fitzgerald is convinced of it, and he has made it his personal mission to improve ventilation wherever possible.
He is a professor at the Royal Academy of Engineering at the University of Cambridge, but that doesn’t stop him “from trying to open windows that have been painted shut or have not been serviced in years”.
“I have to get out if I can’t open it,” he said. “I refuse to be in a poorly ventilated place.”
According to Fitzgerald, research shows that bringing in a good amount of fresh air to reduce the intensity of the presence of viruses in the air and to disperse them, can reduce the risk of infection by 70 to 80%.
He supports guidelines on hand washing, social distancing and wearing masks, but says breathing fresh air “always comes in fourth place or is often not mentioned at all.”
“What worries me is that we haven’t yet reached the winter chill that plagues our faces, but this season actually means people are staying inside their homes and the windows are usually closed. “
He adds: “My big concern is that with the new strain of the virus, we know that reducing dust (aerosols) will be of great importance, and that means maintaining adequate ventilation in the premises.”
What are the risks?
Dr Fitzgerald cites new research from a restaurant in South Korea that sheds light on the extent to which the virus can spread indoors.
Using the contact tracing app and surveillance cameras, scientists were able to determine how two other people got infected inside the restaurant, even though one was sitting more than 4 meters away. and the other more than 6 meters from the source of the infection.
And although the three people stayed in the same room for only a few minutes, it was long enough for the air conditioner to spread the virus over those long distances.
“Aerosols can travel several meters once they are released into the atmosphere,” explains Fitzgerald.
He adds: “Two meters is no guarantee of your safety, the only thing that ensures good ventilation. If the restaurant windows were open, the results could have been different.”
But what about Stay calm؟
It’s not about keeping all the windows in the house wide open all day, Fitzgerald says, but making sure there is enough room to let in fresh air.
The answer is to add another layer of clothing that she is wearing. As Fitzgerald puts it, “I recommend wearing a sweater rather than a blouse or short-sleeved shirt indoors.”
“But that’s what we have to do anyway to save our heating bills and reduce our energy demand, because we’re all doing our duty to fight climate change,” he continues.
Dr Hughes says ventilating rooms for a few minutes several times a day won’t lose a lot of heat, but will keep people in a safer atmosphere.
So her idea for the perfect Christmas present this season is to buy some heat-retaining underwear.
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