Simulation Studies Provide Evidence of Aerosol Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in a Multi-Story Building via Air Supply, Exhaust and Sanitary Pipelines

Zhuona Zhang, Xia Li, Qin Wang, Xiaoning Zhao, Jin Xu, Qinqin Jiang, Sili Jiang, Jiayun Lyu, Shiqiang Liu, Ling Ye, Jun Yuan, Wenru Feng, Jiamin Xie, Qiuling Chen, Haoming Zou and Dongqun Xu
Additional contact information
Zhuona Zhang: National Institute of Environmental Health, China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100021, China
Xia Li: National Institute of Environmental Health, China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100021, China
Qin Wang: National Institute of Environmental Health, China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100021, China
Xiaoning Zhao: Section of Ecological Environment & Energy Resources, Beijing Institute of Metrology, Beijing 100012, China
Jin Xu: China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, Beijing 100021, China
Qinqin Jiang: Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou 510440, China
Sili Jiang: Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou 510440, China
Jiayun Lyu: Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou 510440, China
Shiqiang Liu: Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou 510440, China
Ling Ye: Guangdong Field Epidemiology Training Program, Guangzhou 511430, China
Jun Yuan: Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou 510440, China
Wenru Feng: Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou 510440, China
Jiamin Xie: Guangdong Field Epidemiology Training Program, Guangzhou 511430, China
Qiuling Chen: Guangdong Field Epidemiology Training Program, Guangzhou 511430, China
Haoming Zou: Guangdong Field Epidemiology Training Program, Guangzhou 511430, China
Dongqun Xu: National Institute of Environmental Health, China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100021, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 3, 1-11

Abstract: A cross-layer non-vertical transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) occurred in a quarantine hotel in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China in June 2021. To explore the cross-layer transmission path and influencing factors of viral aerosol, we set up different scenarios to carry out simulation experiments. The results showed that the air in the polluted room can enter the corridor by opening the door to take food and move out the garbage, then mix with the fresh air taken from the outside as part of the air supply of the central air conditioning system and re-enter into different rooms on the same floor leading to the same-layer transmission. In addition, flushing the toilet after defecation and urination will produce viral aerosol that pollutes rooms on different floors through the exhaust system and the vertical drainage pipe in the bathroom, resulting in cross-layer vertical transmission, also aggravating the transmission in different rooms on the same floor after mixing with the air of the room and entering the corridor to become part of the air supply, and meanwhile, continuing to increase the cross-layer transmission through the vertical drainage pipe. Therefore, the air conditioning and ventilation system of the quarantine hotel should be operated in full fresh air mode and close the return air; the exhaust volume of the bathroom should be greater than the fresh air volume. The exhaust pipe of the bathroom should be independently set and cannot be interconnected or connected in series. The riser of the sewage and drainage pipeline of the bathroom should maintain vertical to exhaust independently and cannot be arbitrarily changed to horizontal pipe assembly.

Keywords: quarantine hotel; field simulation of SARS-CoV-2; transmission path; air supply; drainage (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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