MUKUND SAHASRABUDHE

Director --Technical Services, Sarovar Hotels and Resorts

.,1 0( ( ( )( The primary understanding today is that the coronavirus is transmitted through person-to-person contact which means that in the future it will be crucial to maintain the prescribed ‘social distancing’ norms between individuals in hotels and restaurants. It is also recommended that frequently touched surfaces and objects continue to be disinfected at regular intervals to ensure safety of guests and hotel staff. Having said that, airborne transmission of the virus is said to occur when microbes within droplet nuclei i.e. particles less than 5 — (microns) in diameter remain in the air for a long time and can be transmitted over distances greater than 1 m. Using 3 — filters will therefore ensure that air quality remains pure. Special precautions need to be taken in order to address this issue. The conventional measures with respect to maintaining pure air quality in hotels include cleaning the FCUs (Fan Coil Units) and AHUs (Air Handling Units) coils and filters. Additional precautions will involve thoroughly disinfecting airconditioned areas as well as replacing the existing filter microns with 3 — (microns) filters. Apart from that, installing UV filters for AHUs, TFAs and ozonisation of designated areas as well as installing UV bulbs is now going to be inevitable. This will ensure that the air-conditioned spaces remain free from bacteria.

Installation of 3 μ filters, UV filters for AHUs, TFAs and ozonisation of

designated areas will be inevitable”