Ventilation and Air Conditioning

Good ventilation and air conditioning will help to reduce the spread of COVID-19 by reducing how much virus is in the air. Good ventilation and air conditioning can reduce the risk of aerosol transmission. Aerosol transmission happens when a collection of infected particles are deposited onto a surface, where the pathogen can survive for some time, or inhaled by someone who may become infected.

Natural ventilation, also known as ‘passive airflow’, can be achieved by opening doors and windows and allowing fresh air to flow through. However, natural ventilation may not always be possible. If you have a room in the middle of a building with no windows or external doors, natural ventilation will not be possible. There may be other settings, such as care homes or schools, where opening an external door may not always be ideal. Mechanical ventilation is the use of fans and ducts to bring in fresh air. Mechanical ventilation that brings fresh air in from outside may be more suitable in some settings.

Air-conditioning units or mechanical ventilation that reuses air from the room, without bringing fresh air in from outside should not be used as they do not reduce how much virus is in the air. 

It is important to identity areas of your workspace that may be poorly ventilated, assess the risks within those areas and agree steps that can be taken to improve ventilation.

Although good ventilation helps to reduce the risk of aerosol transmission, it does not reduce the amount of droplet (from being in close contact with someone who is infections) or contact transmission (from touching contaminated surfaces). It is still important to consider social distancing and an enhanced cleaning schedule as well, to reduce the risks from all transmission types. There are also many other ways to ensure you are working safely including, frequent hand washing and keeping the workspace clean.

For more guidance please contact one of the team on info@ensuresafetytraining.co.uk or call 01270 619 584

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