Two-plus years into the Covid-19 pandemic, you probably know the basics of protection: vaccines, boosters, proper handwashing and masks. But one of the most powerful tools against the coronavirus is one that experts believe is just starting to get the attention it deserves: ventilation.
what the experts had been saying all along: that COVID-19 could also spread by small aerosolized particles that can travel more than 6 feet.
The size of these particles affects not only how far it can travel but how deeply we can breathe it into our lungs, and how we should approach protecting ourselves from this virus. The 1901 Tenement Housing Act of New York required every tenement building -- a building with multifamily households -- to have ventilation, running water and gas light.
It's important to note that if you have an HVAC system, it must be running to actually circulate or filter the air. The EPA says that these systems run less than 25 per cent of the time during heating and cooling seasons. Filters have a minimum efficiency reporting value, or MERV, rating that indicates how well they capture small particles. The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers recommends using at least a MERV-13 filter, which it says is at least 85 per cent efficient at capturing particles from 1 to 3 microns.
Ventilation standards are based on "an amount of fresh air per person, plus the amount of fresh air per square foot," Allen explained. "So if you have a good system, the more people that enter the room, the more ventilation is brought in to the room." The district had begun upgrading HVAC systems in several schools even before the pandemic, but federal funding allowed it to add filtration units during a crucial time when masks have become optional.
New Hampshire's Manchester School District is pouring almost US$35 million into upgrading HVAC systems, and interim Superintendent Jennifer Gillis says federal funding is "absolutely key."