Thread by @DrEricDing

📍AIRBORNE RESTAURANT TRANSMISSION—3 families—“No close contact or fomite contact identified, aside from back-to-back sitting—Airflow dynamics indicates the infection distribution is consistent with a spread of **long-range transmission of exhaled virus-laden aerosols**”. 🧵

2) It was clearly aerosol airborne transmission— “No sharing of items (e.g., a kettle) was observed between the three tables and no conversations occurred between the three families.”

sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

3) here was the air pattern—“The infection risk was also higher for patrons at zone-ABC tables (red) than those at non-ABC zone tables (χ2 = 25.78, P < 0.001). None of the patrons seated in the non-ABC zone were infected.”

4) Bottomline: the coronavirus is VERY airborne.

➡️ Anyone else feel like indoor school cafeteria lunchrooms without masks are a bad idea?

We need to ventilate + use CDC approved air disinfection. Outdoor lunches safest for kids. Let’s get these upgrades for kids schools now!

5) Have we seen indoor transmission in a restaurant before? Many many times. This South Korea 🇰🇷 infection stood out — it was from 20 feet away and a teenager was infected within just 5 minutes in the restaurant! See 🧵

6) How is aerosol different from large droplets? aerosol study indicates that coronavirus is persistent and stable for many hours. Typical air exchange every 20 min to 4 hrs, depending on ventilation. #COVID19

7) VENTILATION is key. Both ventilation and masks needed to reduce risk indoors. But most buildings not ventilated well enough.

8) “Until we recognise that #COVID19 is airborne we are setting ourselves up for repeated failure”

P.s. they don’t use masks in video because Australia 🇦🇺 is at almost #ZeroCovid #COVIDisAirborne

9) Now that aerosol transmission of the coronavirus is established, we need to disperse aerosols quickly. Key is ventilation. 🇯🇵 assumed it was airborne from the beginning. Here is how to ventilate your school classrooms if unable to open window. #COVID19

10) What we critically need in schools and restaurants is VENTILATION & AIR CLEANING whenever ventilation isn’t enough.

Air cleaning should be restricted to just CDC approved products. See detailed thread 🧵 below on CDC guidance on safe school air quality ⬇️

11) We need >=5 air exchanges per hour. Most classroom ventilation only offers 1-2/hour. Need air disinfection via portable HEPA filters or UV disinfection—do *not* use ionization based devices, says @marwa_zaatari, indoor air expert.

12) here are a list of key priority elements for safe schools (and restaurants) endorsed by CDC or by multiple indoor air experts.

13) BARS➡️OUTBREAKS. Over 600 students in one rural Illinois county were affected when a #COVID19 outbreak forced their school to close earlier this year.

📍The CDC now says a poorly ventilated bar opening event is to blame.

Damnit it’s airborne people.
bnd.com/news/coronavir…