Thread by @CorsIAQ

1/ Hearing a lot of concern about return to campus from faculty & staff at universities across the US. I wrote about this way back in spring and summer of 2020. Here we go again. Some advice here for those in states with leaders who value science and logic.

2/ If the university is open or partially open this fall, my advice is to reverse course on loosening of risk reduction interventions (and make this clear to the campus community as soon as possible).

3/ Enforce the vaccination requirement to the extent possible. It is not possible to verify at some universities relying on attestation. In those cases, employ daily reminders and signs across campus that reinforce why universal vaccination is critical for the community.

4/ Make masks a requirement for everyone in every building on campus. Required vaccinations + universal mask wearing to reduce emissions from those infected and inhaled dose by receptors is a POWERFUL, POWERFUL duo.

5/ Provide exceptional guidance on masks and mask usage to the entire community. Describe methods to assure and check for mask fit. Be prepared to distribute good multi-layer cloth masks with nose wires (or better) to the community as needed.

6/ To the extent possible, increase supply air and %OA to indoor spaces and disable demand control ventilation systems. It is important to continue ventilating indoor spaces between periods of occupancy. Cost? Yes. Not a time to be frugal.

7/ Encourage outdoor meetings whenever possible. Consider investing in low-cost fabric camp stools or towels that faculty, staff and students can check out for outdoor meetings.

8/ Mobilize portable white boards for those who do not use projectors and want to lecture outdoors on nice days (I used to do this at UT Austin in the 1990s and students enjoyed the change -- as did I).

9/ Replace existing filters w/ MERV 13 filters in HVAC systems whenever possible. This should be possible in a large fraction of HVAC systems in most universities.
If not, consider MERV 12 or 11. Cost? Yes, and recurring. Not a time to be frugal.

10/ Work to reduce occupancy in building zones for which increased ventilation and/or advanced filtration are not possible.

11/ Use portable HEPA filtration systems w/ CADR > 300 scfm in office suites, conf rooms, & classrooms < 1,200 square feet or so. Valuable for reducing virus-laden aerosol particles in spaces for which increased ventilation not possible. Cost? Yes. Not a time to be frugal.

12/ Most universities will not employ upper-room UVGI. However, those that might ought to consider for larger lecture halls, large study halls, etc. Good vertical mixing, e.g., use of fan in tube systems or other means, is important.

13/ With this approach, the risk of infection with severe outcomes is NOT zero. However, it will be significantly reduced (likely 20 x or more from reduced inhalation dose and 100 x or more with vaccination requirement added to inhalation dose reduction).

14/ Almost forgot -- dormitories come up a lot. Reducing exposures in dormitories is important. Again, VACCINATION, improved ventilation, educate on use of masks with multiple occupants during non-sleep time, portable HEPA filtration during multiple occupancy & sleep.

15/ The delta variant is a beast. Many of us have been trying to educate on the virtues of layered risk reduction since spring 2020. This concept was important then and even more important now. Just do it!