Coronavirus has become the focal point for health experts and scientists across the globe. The primary objective is to try and understand as much about the virus as possible to inform public health advice and minimise the threat. One of the most important areas of focus is how the virus spreads.
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Coronavirus symptoms: Warning signs in your nose
According to the World Health Organization, COVID-19 spreads primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
Mounting evidence suggests air conditioning units, which are commonly found in restaurants and some homes, encourage this process.
One study, published on the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website and approved by the Ethics Committee of the Guangzhou Centre for Disease Control, makes a compelling case.
The study looked at 10 coronavirus cases from three families who ate at a restaurant at the same time in Guangzhou, China.
It found that droplet transmission may have been propelled by the restaurant’s air-conditioning across three tables, infecting other diners.
According to the study, from January 26 through February 10 2020, an outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) affected 10 people from three families who had eaten at the same air-conditioned restaurant in Guangzhou, China.
One of the families had just traveled from Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
On January 24, the index patient (the first identified patient) ate lunch with three other family members at a restaurant.
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Two other families sat at neighbouring tables at the same restaurant.
Later that day, the index patient experienced onset of fever and cough and went to the hospital.
By February 5, a total of nine others from the three families became ill with the virus.
The only known source of exposure among the three families was the index patient at the restaurant.
The study determined that the coronavirus was transmitted to one member of each of the other two families at the restaurant, and that further infections resulted from intra-family transmission.
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The windowless restaurant had an air-conditioning vent on one side of the room, and a vent on the other.
The three families dined in the restaurant for around an hour in close proximity. During that time, both the air-conditioner and the quarantined customers tested negative for coronavirus.
Among the 83 customers that day, 10 became ill with COVID-19; the other 73 were identified as close contacts and quarantined for 14 days.
The study found that the virus transmission in this outbreak could not be explained by droplet transmission alone.
The study researchers said: “Larger respiratory droplets remain in the air for only a short time and travel only short distances, generally. The distances between the index patient and persons at other tables were all less than one metre.”
However, “strong airflow from the air conditioner could have propagated droplets from table to table”.
The researchers concluded that the droplet transmission was prompted by air-conditioned ventilation, and that the key factor for infection was the direction of the airflow.
In addition, research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found traces of the coronavirus in a hospital air duct.
An air duct connected to the room of one of the patients, thought to be only suffering from mild symptoms, was found with traces of the virus.
Researchers suggested “small, virus-laden droplets may be displaced by airflows and deposited on equipment such as vents”.
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