Covid-19: Ventilation in buildings holds the key

With Covid cases on the rise again there are growing concerns that the UK is turning a blind eye to introducing measures to reduce its impact and spread. The impact on business and the health service is starting to escalate as more workers are being struck down with the virus. As the public follows loosened Government guidance the continued spread is inevitable, with many health experts predicting another peak in the Autumn. 

While many will point towards the need for potential further lockdowns and the continuing use of masks, growing numbers of experts are calling for a focus on air quality improvement measures. Studies on ventilation and and the impact it has on the reducing the spread of Covid were well documented at the height of the pandemic. However, with the Government’s new laissez faire attitude and the public’s blindness to Covid, preventative measures have taken a back seat. However, growing numbers of business leaders are questioning these attitudes as firms are suffering from severe staff shortages. In response to these concerns, there is a renewed focus on improving ventilation in buildings. The glazing industry has an important role to play and can offer significant help in improving the air quality in commercial, educational and residential environments. Opportunities exist in existing buildings and new-build, where windows can greatly improve air flow. 

For those that continue to put their heads in the sand, and believe Covid is over, it is worth taking in the comments from three respected experts.  Deepti Gurdasani of Queen Mary University of London believes investment in air quality is key in winning the battle against Covid 19: “We clean the water for water-borne diseases so we don’t have to live with these. We need to do the same with Covid. We need investment into indoor air quality, and standards for this for workplaces, hospitals, businesses and schools, with air cleaning where needed.”

Christina Pagel of University College London has always been an advocate of using ventilation as a means of tackling Covid, from simply opening windows to introducing more sophisticated air systems within commercial and public buildings. 

The longer large sections of society bury their heads in the sands over Covid, the longer we will with saddled with the constant cost to business and the health service. Steve Griffin, a virologist at Leeds University believes we are in for the long haul: “We are experiecing plateaus of infections between waves that are far higher than we ever had before last summer, due to lack of mitigations in place. Leaving vaccines to deal with the pandemic alone simply isn’t working and we need to do more over the longer term to build resilience against such high levels of infections. This does not mean lockdowns but learning to proactively live with the virus, rather than passively ignoring and dismissing this infection, which remains a public health concern.”

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