Perfect virus storm brewing
POOR VENTILATION: LACK OF AIR FILTRATION COULD LEAD TO SPIKE IN COMING WEEKS
Taxi passengers don’t want drivers to open windows in cold weather.
Masks and sanitiser are not enough for businesses to prevent a surge of Covid-19 transmission between their customers and workers as experts warned that poor ventilation could be the next silent killer.
According to epidemiologist Dr Jabulani Ncayiana, the opening of schools, restaurants and increased air and land transit could spark a new wave of infections in the next two weeks.
“It will become clear in the next couple of weeks how far the impact of these industries will go,” Ncayiana said.
“But if certain assumptions are to be made about the behaviour of people who have not been following Covid-19 safety guidelines, we can expect to see a surge of cases emanating from the activities that will begin this week.
“The regulations are completely useless and meaningless if compliance is not achieved. We have even seen on live television the many different ways not to wear a mask, for instance.”
In addition to existing poor mask etiquette by the general public, small, shared spaces such as taxis and restaurants were generally poorly ventilated and operators needed to ensure the constant outflow of stale air from these spaces using windows and correct air conditioning.
School resumed for more grades nationwide as part of government’s gradual reopening of the system amid concerns that these facilities were already becoming sites for rapid Covid-19 transmissions.
In the North West, government confirmed at least 106 new Covid-19 cases at schools in the province. These included 11 nonteaching staff, 73 teachers and 22 pupils.
Last week, the Gauteng education department confirmed that 188 teachers and 58 pupils have tested positive for the virus since the partial reopening of schools, with the disease affecting 176 schools in the province.
Professor Alex van den Heever, chair of the Wits University school of social security systems administration and management studies, warned that ignoring the importance of ventilation could render mask-wearing almost useless at protecting people from catching the disease because in spaces with poor ventilation, droplets containing the virus could stay suspended in the environment for longer.
This was why it was safer to be in open, public spaces where the air was continuously displaced, lowering the chances of airborne transmission.
“The reasons why illnesses such as the flu and Covid-19 flourish in cold weather can, in part, be attributed to the fact that people tend to close windows and adopt poor ventilation practices when it is cold,” van den Heever said.
This was clearly evident in the informal taxi industry where it was difficult to gain consensus to travel with open windows, especially entering the colder months.
The schooling environment was prone to the same bad practices.
Aircraft ventilation systems made these spaces safer in this regard compared to taxis, buses and restaurants, according to a member of the South African Airline Pilots Association.
The commercial pilot, who requested his name be withheld as he was not the official spokesperson, said aside from the several air vents which ensure outflow of air from the plane, the aircraft’s pressurisation system ensured that air was constantly flowing in and out of the aircraft.
Meanwhile, the restaurant industry hit the ground running, disseminating a comprehensive best practice manual for all restaurants as dine-in services were set to resume this week.
But Wendy Alberts, CEO of the Restaurant Association of South Africa, pointed out that no directive existed from government on capacity limits inside restaurants, leaving much to individual discretion.
“It is clear that neither the regulations released on Thursday, nor the directions released today, impose a restrictive number on how many guests are allowed to be served onsite,” Alberts said.
“Through numerous telephone calls and messages we have confirmation from the department of tourism that our reading of the regulations is correct and that there is no 50-person limit on the number of patrons allowed to be seated [provided the social distancing directions are adhered to].
“We must follow the regulations and directions as they have been gazetted and not look at social media and the like for our answers.”
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We must not look at social media for answers