Abstract
An unforeseen pandemic is facing the world caused by a corona virus known as SARS-CoV-2. Numerous measures are being put in place to try and reduce the spread of this deadly disease, with the most effective response to the outbreak being mass quarantines, a public health technique borrowed from the Middle Ages. The widely accepted main transmission mechanism is through droplet borne pathways. However, many researchers and studies are considering that this virus can also spread via the airborne route and remain for up to three hours in the air. This is leading to questions as to whether enough is being done regarding ventilation to reduce the risk of the spread of this or other diseases that may be air borne. Ventilation and air conditioning systems are the main focus when it comes to the transmission of such deadly pathogens and should be appropriately designed and operated. This paper reviews and critically evaluates the current ventilation strategies used in buildings to assess the state of the art and elaborates if there is room for further development, especially for high occupancy buildings, to reduce or eradicate the risk of pathogen transmission and adapt ventilation measures to new threats posed by pandemics.
Highlights
An unprecedented viral disease has brought our globe to a halt, impacting most of mankind’s activities
COVID19 belongs to the group of coronavirus, known as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) [1]
Summary of mixing ventilation systems mechanical ventilation usually comes with better controllability, it can increase both capital and operating costs which are some of the drawbacks
Summary
An unprecedented viral disease has brought our globe to a halt, impacting most of mankind’s activities. COVID19 belongs to the group of coronavirus, known as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) [1]. This virus has already surpassed the number of infections of two other epidemics in this century [2]. Designed to control the spread of the virus include lockdowns, selfisolation, social distancing, use of face masks and the recommendation to wash hands as frequently as possible, [3]. N95 masks have been recommended by WHO and have been known to help prevent infected individuals from spreading the virus if not necessarily preventing healthy individuals from contracting it from others [1, 4]
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