A member of the Government’s expert group on ventilation has expressed concern that the various industries returning to work are “using guidance that isn’t scientifically up to date”. The expert group’s two reports on how best to use ventilation in mitigating the risk of Covid-19 were officially published on Tuesday, three months after first being delivered to the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet). She stressed the updated guidelines recently published across sectors “are really just add-ons to previous documents which stated that it’s all about surface hygiene and hand-washing”. I’m concerned that the sectors are using guidance that isn’t scientifically up to date. The expert group’s reports meanwhile also recommend that air filtration devices “may be useful” in reducing airborne transmission of the virus in spaces with insufficient ventilation.

Source: Irish Examiner June 08, 2021 19:30 UTC