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A study by researchers suggests that air filters can remove almost all airborne traces of COVID-19.
The findings by the University of Cambridge and Addenbrooke’s Hospital could not only improve the safety of “surge wards” but also opens up the possibility of setting standards for cleaner air to reduce the risk of indoor transmission.
With fears growing of another potential wave this winter, the discovery could allow hospitals to better manage their repurposed “surge wards” which can often lack the ability to change the air with a high frequency.
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Portable air filtration and ultra-violet sterilisation devices are being proposed as an effective method of preventing patient-to-healthcare worker transmission in COVID-19 wards, according to the study published in the Clinical Infection Diseases journal.
Dr Vilas Navapurlar, a consultant in intensive care medicine who led the study, said: “Reducing airborne transmission of the coronavirus is extremely important for the safety of both patients and staff.
“Effective PPE has made a huge difference, but anything we can do to reduce the risk further is important,” he added.
“Because of the numbers of patients being admitted with COVID-19, hospitals have had to use wards not designed for managing respiratory infections.
“During an intensely busy time, we were able to pull together a team from across the hospital and university to test whether portable air filtration devices, which are relatively inexpensive, might remove airborne SARS-CoV-2 and make these wards safer.”
The team installed a high efficiency particulate air filter/UV steriliser – a device made up of thousands…
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Source : skynews
