The use of air cleaners is recommended by some experts to filter the air in indoor environments like home, office, school and other publich places. They have to be equipped with HEPA filters and need to be operated according to the size of the indoor environment and the number of people present in the vicinity.
Some studies already exist, which promote the use of air cleaners.
Do you think, that this is a dangerous feeling of safety and in the end it will lead to less cautious behavior regarding COVID-19 transmission ?
Is there a possibility, that air-cleaners are a solution for stopping viral infections ?
The coronavirus is at the lower end of a HEPA filter’s range, so it might not be 100% effective on a single pass, but HEPA filters certainly stop droplets containing viruses.
Anyway, filters filter only the air passing through them. So the aerosol emitted by a person speaking to you are not stopped before they reach you. Therefore, aircleaners do not replace the basic cautions: wear a chirurgical mask, wash your hands and keep distance!
No, air cleaners will not stop COVID-19 or any viral infection, since most of the air surrounding a person does not pass through an air cleaner before reaching another person ! The only ways to stop an epidemy is either keeping in quarantine ALL the infected persons at the same time, or waiting until a large majority of the population is immunised, either naturally (the surviovors) or with a vaccine.
Dear Dr. Roulet,
thank you for the interesting information. Actually, the air cleaners availability will surely make people more relaxed, resulting in the wrong impression, that masks are no more needed. I agree, that proper use of masks and further precautionary measures will be needed to control the spread of COVID-19.
Thank you for your interesting answer
This information needs to be mitigated to the community.
Best regards
Zehra
Hi, No, any system that makes air circulation can spread the virus.
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