The effect of air conditioning outlets on the spread of respiratory disease in Mosque’s environment

Abstract

Mosques are places for daily worship for Muslims, where they attend prayers five times/day. As a common prayer practice, worshippers conduct prayers in standing groups side-by-side in rows touching shoulders and ankles. Furthermore, in their praying practice, worshippers touch the floor with their forehead four to eight times in a single prayer, which is an important factor in picking or spreading infection disease. Mosques are usually air-cooled by mechanical means with a poor ventilation system. The prayer practices, coupled with the poor ventilation system increase the risk of spreading respiratory diseases like COVID-19. This study utilizes a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) package to evaluate disease particles’ movement around rows of worshipers. The research evaluates the impact of air outlet locations on the spread of the disease particles. The results indicated that the locations of air outlets relative to the infected person may significantly help to spread the particulates. In mosque environment, the ceiling diffusers are recommended, and sidewall outlets should be avoided. In addition, it was concluded that a minimum of 2 meters between occupants as suggested by WHO is not deemed enough to control the spread of disease in mosque environment and a minimum of 3 m is necessary. The study calls to review the guidelines by the World Health Organization (WHO) for mosques and similar environment.