[ad_1]
Nine people became infected, even though they were sitting far apart
Are air conditioning systems dangerous to launch viruses? New research from China shows a frightening finding in this regard. Nine people became ill with Covid-19 after eating in a windowless restaurant with an infected but asymptomatic person. The incident occurred in January in the Guangzhou metropolis. So says hygiene expert Dr. Add Georg-Christian Zinn!
“We know about air conditioning infections”
Nine people become infected with the corona virus in Guangzhou, China when they visit a restaurant, even though they were several meters away. An investigative team now suspects that the restaurant’s air conditioning system has distributed virus droplets from the infected person to the room. This allowed viruses to travel a greater distance than normal through the system.
Scientists explain this contagion in a research report in the journal “Emerging Infectious Diseases.” Do we have to worry about this phenomenon also in Germany? “We know infections from air conditioning systems,” reports hygiene expert Dr. Georg-Christian Zinn. “We know, for example, legionella in waterborne bacteria. There was one case in the United States where the bacteria were sprayed through an air conditioning system and then made hotel residents sick and left them to die.”
Air conditioning systems in Germany are highly regulated.
But exactly these cases would have led to huge improvements to the systems. Consequently, the air conditioning systems that we have in Germany are subject to really very strict regulations, on the one hand regarding construction and on the other hand regarding maintenance, according to the hygienist. “A normal air conditioning system in a bank or like here in the laboratory has at least two filter levels,” he explains. “And if an air conditioning system has been built and maintained according to the rules of technology, there is certainly no danger in Germany.” Even if there were not 100% security here, he emphasized: “In general, air conditioning systems in Germany are safe.”
Please don’t cough on the fans
Particularly in medical facilities, the pandemic had been meticulously reviewed to see if there was any threat. “If this air conditioning system in China, which is now supposed to have caused this infection, remained poor, malfunctioned, or just a terribly old model,” he cannot say.
And what about the fans? “With fans, caution is advised, of course, one should not sneeze and cough,” because in this case the virus can spread throughout the room, the expert tells us.
