Oct 13th, 2021
3 mins
As more workers occupy both the schools and the workplace, the PROTECT COVID-19 National Core Study has published a new paper in the Indoor and Built Environment journal detailing a new model that has been developed to predict the risk of airborne COVID-19 infection in such environments.
The model uses monitored CO2 and occupancy data to predict how many workers are likely to be infected by an asymptomatic but infectious colleague.
Professor Andrew Curran, HSE’s Chief Scientific Adviser and lead for the PROTECT study:
‘This important research demonstrates that, while the airborne transmission route can be a significant contributor to COVID-19 infection risk in places such as offices and schools, there are achievable steps that can be taken to reduce this risk and help facilitate a safe return.
Ensuring adequate ventilation is a key element, and the appropriate use of tools such as CO2 monitoring can give building managers a much better understanding of their own ventilation systems and how they are performing for each activity undertaken in the space.’
Read the paper:
