Summer arrives, good weather and heat, and above all we are looking to cool down and keep our bodies acclimatized. If so far this was not a problem thanks to air conditioning, can it become a problem this summer?
When asked about the risk of contagion, Dr. Joaquin Lamela, a pulmonologist and specialist in lung diseases, does not believe that the use of air conditioning is really a danger. The doctor points out that so far it has not been proven and there is no evidence that air conditioning can favor the transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-Cov-2).
What happens to the droplets that are “floating” in the air?
After coughing, sneezing, even after speaking loudly, the patient with Covid-19 can eliminate the virus with the small droplets of respiratory secretions produced. The virus suspended in the air is able to last up to three hours, but it has not been shown to have the same contagious capacity as when it has just been eliminated.
Except in hospital environments, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) it is unlikely that there are virus particles floating in the air that can be contagious.
There are two types of air conditioning. On the one hand, the one that simply modifies the temperature and on the other hand, the one that allows the air to be renewed. Is there a greater risk of contagion for either of these two models of air conditioning?
Neither has been demonstrated risk of contagion in any of the two types of air conditioning, despite hoaxes that are being published in social networks warning of the outbreak of coronavirus when turning on the air conditioner.
It may be advisable to reinforce the cleaning of air filters and increase the level of ventilation of air conditioning systems to renew the air more regularly. So far, there is no scientific evidence linking the use of air conditioning to the spread of coronavirus.
Although, if possible, it may be prudent to combine air conditioning with natural ventilation. If there is no clear evidence of airborne transmission of the virus after all, why this alarm about the use of air conditioning? What should be clear to us is that airborne transmission beyond two meters from the infected person by coughing or sneezing seems unlikely.
Researchers in Singapore took air samples from rooms of symptomatic patients with Covid-19 and found no viral RNA in the air. Airborne transmission of the virus has also not been reported in studies conducted in China.
It is true that scientific evidence on the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is still lacking, since it is very likely that the risk of contagion rises in enclosed spaces without good air circulation and in close proximity to infected persons. This was the case in a gymnasium in South Korea.
The cramped gym space was cramped with people crowded together in an enclosed space breathing the same air for 50 minutes. Eventually, the sick instructor ended up infecting more than 100 people.
Epidemiologist Emily Gurley of Johns Hopkins University says that there are many nuances to the possibility of catching the coronavirus by this route, what we would commonly understand as “through the air”.
The epidemiologist does not deny that contagion through the air is possible, but also warns that it is more likely to occur through close and prolonged contact with infectious patients rather than by sharing the same space.
What steps can we take this summer to reduce the risk of spreading the virus through air conditioning mechanisms?
Since it has not yet been demonstrated that CoV-Sars2 can be transmitted and spread to humans through air conditioning, it would be unwise to be alarmed.
There appears to be no risk of transmission in public or private air-conditioned places. At the moment, this risk only exists if we are crowded with other people, in an air-conditioned or non-air-conditioned place and one of them is infected.