CFD Simulation of the Airborne Transmission of COVID-19 Vectors Emitted during Respiratory Mechanisms: Revisiting the Concept of Safe Distance.

Abstract

The airborne transmission of the COVID-19 virus has been suggested as a major mode of transmission in recent studies. In this context, we studied the spatial transmission of COVID-19 vectors in an indoor setting representative of a typical office room. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were performed to study the airborne dispersion of particles ejected due to different respiratory mechanisms, i.e., coughing, sneezing, normal talking, and loud talking. Number concentration profiles at a distance of 2 m in front of the emitter at the ventilation rates of 4, 6, and 8 air changes per hour (ACH) were estimated for different combinations of inlet–outlet positions and emitter–receptor configurations. Apart from respiratory events, viz., coughing and sneezing characterized by higher velocity and concentration of ejected particles, normal as well as loud talking was seen to be carrying particles to the receptor for some airflow patterns in the room. This study indicates that the ″rule of thumb based safe distance approach″ cannot be a general mitigation strategy for infection control. Under some scenarios, events with a lower release rate of droplets such as talking (i.e., asymptomatic transmission) can lead to a high concentration of particles persisting for long times. For better removal, the study suggests ″air curtains″ as an appropriate approach, simultaneously highlighting the pitfalls in the ″higher ventilation rate for better removal″ strategy. The inferences for talking-induced particle transmissions are crucial considering that large populations of COVID-19-infected persons are projected to be asymptomatic transmitters.