Abstract
COVID-19 pandemic raised a debate regarding the role of airborne transmission. Information regarding virus-laden aerosol concentrations is still scarce in community indoors and what are the risks for general public and the efficiency of restriction policies. This work investigates, for the first time in Italy, the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in air samples collected in different community indoors (one train station, two food markets, one canteen, one shopping centre, one hair salon, and one pharmacy) in three Italian cities: metropolitan city of Venice (NE of Italy), Bologna (central Italy), and Lecce (SE of Italy). Air samples were collected during the maximum spread of the second wave of pandemic in Italy (November and December 2020). All collected samples tested negative for the presence of SARS-CoV-2, using both real-time RT-PCR and ddPCR, and no significant differences were observed comparing samples taken with and without customers. Modelling average concentrations, using influx of customers’ data and local epidemiological information, indicated low values (i.e. < 0.8 copies m−3 when cotton facemasks are used and even lower for surgical facemasks). The results, even if with some limitations, suggest that the restrictive policies enforced could effectively reduce the risk of airborne transmissions in the community indoor investigated, providing that physical distance is respected.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11356-021-16737-7.
Highlights
The global pandemic due to COVID-19 disease, related to the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, spread all around the world
All collected samples tested negative for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 genetic material, with both analysis real-time reverse transcription (RT)-PCR and droplet digital PCR (ddPCR), either for samples collected during opening hours and for samples collected during closure hours
The presence of airborne SARS-CoV-2 RNA was investigated in different community indoor environments in three Italian metropolitan areas: Venice (Veneto Region, NE of Italy), Bologna (Emilia-Romagna region, central Italy), and Lecce (Puglia region, SE of Italy)
Summary
The global pandemic due to COVID-19 disease, related to the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, spread all around the world. In Italy, the second wave started roughly at the beginning of October 2020 and hit all regions contrarily to what happened during the first wave (winter 2020) in which northern Italian regions were severely hit compared to southern regions. This convinced the government to enforce mitigation strategies both at national and regional levels according to the estimated risks in the different regions. Different mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 transmission are widely accepted, but the role of airborne transmission in the spread of COVID-19 started a debate since the beginning of pandemic (Contini and Costabile 2020; Domingo et al 2020; Klompas et al 2020; Morawska and Cao 2020; Prather et al 2020; Ram et al 2021). Even if a large number of studies are available, there are still several aspects not completely understood regarding risks of airborne
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
