CEAC-2020-04-April

ADDRESSING
by JOHN FANNING
While much has been and is being said about the COVID-19 coronavirus
pandemic, too much of what is being said is simple speculation and sensationalism.
This makes the job of protecting the occupants inside facilities just that
much tougher. Facility operators need to know the facts in order to protect
occupants as well as staff who are tasked with operating and maintaining
ventilation systems, and who must respond to maintenance and assistance calls
to and from every area within their buildings, institutions, plants and manufacturing
facilities.
Since the first reports of this outbreak in Wuhan, China, we at the Chief
Engineer have recognized the great impact a pandemic would have on Chief
Engineers. For that reason, we have been trying to learn as much about this
particular bug as we possibly can. At the time of this writing, we admit there is
more that we still do not know than what we actually have determined. In that
regard, we are in very good company. The Center for Disease Control’s (CDC)
website, for example, under the heading “How COVID-19 Spreads,” begins
nearly every statement with terms like, “The virus is thought to spread …” and
“It may be possible …” That same website makes clear that when it comes to
“community spread,” they are not yet able to determine fully how the virus is
spread.
If the agencies and organizations best equipped to understand a pandemic
cannot make definitive statements concerning its characteristics and potential,
then it may be best to assume that no one can. Unfortunately, in a world
dominated by social media and broadcast communications, there is no shortage
of people who wade into the media stream with opinion and conjecture, much
of which is then passed on as fact.
At this point in the still-emerging crisis, we feel the best thing we can do is to
address the most important questions out there from the facility operators’
point of view, and to provide you with the best information we have found
available to answer those questions. That’s just what follows in a Q&A format:
Q: Does COVID-19 remain viable in the air?
A: Concern about the possibility that this virus could be spread upon the air first came about from bloggers and journalists who
cited a newly published report found in The New England Journal of Medicine and authored principally by researchers with the
National Institute of Health and Princeton University. Information in the report went viral on the Internet, and naturally caused a
lot of concern among the public and with facility operators. What we found out and what you should know about this report
includes the following:
1. The findings in the report were not peer reviewed prior to publishing. This doesn’t mean the information contained in the
report is wrong; it just means that some of the information in the report may be challenged by other scientists and researchers
who attempt to validate the report’s assertions.
2. The report did not actually state that the COVID-19 virus remained active in air. During any test of matter suspended in Earth’s
atmosphere, without turbulence or humidity in the air, the virus will fall to the ground. The COVID-19 virus was therefore tested in
a “Goldberg Drum,” which is a device designed to keep microscopic things like bacteria and viruses in suspension through injection
of moisture and air that is controlled within the drum. While this test demonstrated that COVID-19 could remain active for up
to 3 hours following aerosolization, other viruses and bacteria exhibit similar or even worse traits. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus
aureus (MRSA), according to a study using similar methodology as in the COVID-19 study, showed the potential for that
bacteria to remain recoverable after five days. The COVID-19 virus exhibited similar characteristics to the SARS virus when tested in
the same manner.
What this test showed is that the virus can remain active for up to 3 hours when released in an aerosol manner, such as a person
sneezing. More than anything else, it underscored the importance of covering your nose and mouth when coughing and sneezing.
Under the best conditions, we have always suggested that facility operators wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) when
changing out air filters or servicing humidifiers. That hasn’t changed. At the present time, we have found no evidence that would
warrant additional procedures be undertaken alongside those already in place.