These plastic anti-Covid barriers can make matters worse

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The New York Times reports that clear barriers do little to stop the spread of the coronavirus

The coronavirus sucks, all of you. After more than 15 months of public health protocols, the world continues to struggle to adapt to a new normal. As schools and businesses plan to reopen as the Delta variant sweeps across the country, more organizations are putting in place dividers to help stop the spread of the highly contagious virus. Now, in news that won’t please anyone, research suggests that barriers may interfere with normal ventilation.

Scientists who study aerosols, airflow and ventilation say barriers most of the time don’t help and probably give people a false sense of security, reports The New York Times. Prepare yourself: Scientists say sometimes barriers can make it worse.

According to Times:

“Research suggests that in some cases a barrier protecting an employee behind a checkout can redirect germs to another worker or customer. Rows of clear plastic covers, like those you might find in a nail salon or classroom, can also impede normal airflow and ventilation.. “

When one took to Twitter to examine the ever-changing nature of the COVID-19 study, another Twitter user clarified the matter.

Scientists explain that in areas without barriers, breath particles disperse and are replaced by fresh air about every 15 to 30 minutes. But placing plastic barriers around the room changes the airflow in a room, disrupts normal ventilation, and creates what scientists call “dead zones,” which are places where air particles become highly concentrated. .

“If you have a forest of barriers in a classroom, it’s going to interfere with proper ventilation in that room,” said Linsey Marr, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech and one of the world’s foremost experts in viral transmission. Times. “Everyone’s sprays are going to get trapped and stuck there and build up, and eventually they’ll spill out beyond your own desk.”

Science shows that barriers work on larger droplets, like a sneeze or cough. However, COVID is spread primarily through invisible aerosol particles. The Times article refers to research in the United States and Great Britain which is…. disturbing:

“A Johns Hopkins study showed that desk screens in classrooms were associated with an increased risk of coronavirus infection. The researchers also found that plexiglass partitions with side walls in the main office hamper airflow. And a study of schools in Georgia found that office barriers had little effect on the spread of the coronavirus compared to improvements in ventilation and masking. “

In a troubling passage, Times referred to a study published in 2014 which found that office partitions were among the factors that may have contributed to disease transmission during a tuberculosis outbreak in Australia.

Finally, the Times wrote about a UK study:

“…[In] modeling studies simulating what happens when a person on one side of a barrier – such as a customer in a store – exhales particles when speaking or coughing under various ventilation conditions. The screen is more effective when the person is coughing because the larger particles have greater momentum and hit the barrier. But when a person speaks, the screen doesn’t trap exhaled particles – which just float around them. Although the store clerk can avoid an immediate and direct hit, the particles are still in the room, posing a risk to the clerk and others who can inhale the contaminated air.

It remains to be seen how organizations will implement this information in their workplaces, offices and schools.



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