COVID-19 is in the air, open your windows – CHSO

Ventilation is the key.

The City Health Services Office (CHSO) reiterates that good air circulation at home and offices will dispel viruses in the air in case an infected person was infected with the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) but unaware. 

Engr. Charles Bryan Carame, Chief of the CHSO Sanitation Division, explained that in an ordinary household setting, the windows should be fully opened to let natural air in.

“If you have curtains, open it wide or better yet remove the curtains since it disrupts airflow,” Carame said.

If ventilation is not adequate at home or in the office, Carame recommended the use of an electric fan to circulate stale air. “But positioning is very important when using electric fans, it should be located from the source of air towards an exit but see to it that it is not obstructed by an individual who may or may not carry the virus,” he said.

The World Health Organization recently issued advisories saying that COVID-19 particles linger in the air for up to 16 hours, thus ventilation is vital.

The WHO described the delta variant as a combination of mutations which makes it two times transmissible as the original virus.

“In an indoor space where the ventilation is not adequate, somebody with the infection could have come and gone, but the virus is still lingering in the air. So, if you walk through that area and you breathe that air, you could get infected,” the WHO warned.

While there is no delta variant yet in Baguio, the CHSO reminded the public that a simple home or office ventilation would go a long way against contracting COVID-19. – Jessa Samidan