Coronavirus Technology Solutions
April 27, 2020
April 23rd
Hospital Masks and Air Filtration Webinar
More Midwest Meat Processors have Coronavirus
Outbreaks
Tyson Foods Plant in Washington Closed
A Range of Mask Filter Media and Designs Should
be Evaluated
Global Protective Gear has Created an Innovative
Fabric and Gown to Help Solve the Current
Isolation Gown Shortage
Chinese Meltblown Capacity Far Exceeds That of
Europe
CMPC will Manufacture Surgical Masks in Chile,
Brazil, Peru and Mexico
Procter & Gamble is Converting Manufacturing
Capacity to Produce Face Masks at
a Dozen Manufacturing Sites Globally
Zuiko Mask Production Line Can Produce 600 Per
Minute
Wisconsin Converters Producing Masks, Wipes and
Gowns
Biax-Fiberfilm Corporation has Expanded Meltblown
Fabric Production for N95 Masks
Johns Manville Plant in Richland, Mississippi,
Started Production of Face Mask Media
Shaoyang Textile Machinery Co Starts Up Sinopec
Melt Blown Line on March 29
Reifenhauser Teams with Vietnamese Producer to
Make Masks
Meltblown Capacity Insights
WHO Says Viruses May be Aerolized After Deposit
on Floors
______________________________________________________________________________
April 23rd
Hospital Masks and Air Filtration Webinar
This webinar hosted by Waterloo Filtration
Institute included presentations by five people.
Tom Justice explained that Hospital HVAC systems
are often inadequate and room air purifiers are
being employed in Chinese hospitals even in
non-critical areas.
Bob Burkhead explained that an N95 mask is
tested on 0.1 micron particles and not 0.3
microns.
So its efficiency in removing viruses is
higher than indicated by the rating.
Peter Tsai reported tests which show that
electrostatically charged masks retain
efficiency when cleaned with H2O2 or modest
heat.
Bob McIlvaine reviewed the large variance in
market projections based on variables which are
as yet unclear. Masks and filters rather than
social distancing are the safest route for
return to semi normal life.
Stephen Nicholas reported on efficiency
requirements for health care facilities which
include MERV 14 or HEPA designs for many areas.
Gajanan Bhat addressed the subject of face mask
media including new membrane developments
More Midwest Meat Processors have Coronavirus
Outbreaks
Advocates and workers from a Missouri meat
processing plant are suing Smithfield
Foods,
asking the company to follow CDC guidelines and
take steps to protect its employees from the new
coronavirus.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in U.S. District
Court for the Western District of Missouri,
alleges that the company has failed to make it
possible for employees at its Milan, Missouri,
meat processing plant to socially distance and
is enforcing policies that encourage employees
to come to work sick.
Smithfield Foods Executive Vice President of
Corporate Affairs and Compliance Keith Lombardo
said the claims in the suit are “without factual
or legal merit” and include claims that had been
investigated and deemed unfounded.
In Buchanan County, Missouri, a Triumph Foods
pork plant in St. Joseph is the only cluster of
virus outbreaks, said Mary Robertson,
spokeswoman for the city of St. Joseph, which
operates the local health department.
So far, 14 confirmed cases have been found among
workers at the plant.
Tyson Foods Plant in Washington Closed
Tyson Foods is closing down production at its
huge meat processing plant near Pasco until
further notice so that all employees there can
be tested for coronavirus,
the company announced Thursday.
The facility, which produces enough beef in one
day to feed 4 million people, employs 1,400
workers. But the plant has been struggling in
recent days with worker absenteeism, scores of
COVID-19 cases and community concerns about
infections there, said Steve Stouffer, group
president of Tyson Fresh Meats.
Company officials did not say how many employees
have been infected with COVID-19 so far, but
the Walla
Walla County Department of Community Health reports
that more than 90 Tyson employees have tested
positive for the disease so far.
A Range of Mask
Filter Media and Designs Should be Evaluated
Paul Gardner, former chief of the Army's
Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC)
Respiratory Protection Branch was asked by
McIlvaine to use his experience in evaluating
new filter media for the Army and comment on
recent coronavirus needs.
Paul:
A brief background: The 2013 market
survey referenced in your video was conducted in
support of our research efforts to develop a
low-profile, low-resistance filter for the next
generation of joint-service CBRNE
respirator. At that time I was working for my
previous employer, formerly U.S. Army ECBC, as
leader of the Respiratory Protection Branch
investigating among other efforts novel
particulate filtration media. We evaluated
the media using criteria based on performance
goals aimed primarily at improving the breathing
resistance and reducing the overall profile of
CBRNE filters used in military respirators
(i.e., air-purifying gas masks).
Details
and the rationale for the criteria can be found
in the market survey report. The survey included
melt-blown electrets, nanofiber, and membrane
type media. The melt-blown electrets we
tested offered significantly lower resistance
than non-charged nanofiber and membrane media.
Where the nanofiber and membrane (PTFE-based)
media performed better was in their resistance
to battlefield contaminants (e.g., oil
aerosols). The PTFE-fiber based media also
offered the ability to be “micro-pleated” which
improved overall performance and lent itself to
the design of lower profile particulate filters
with the trade-off of being slightly thicker and
having higher resistance compared to
HEPA-quality flat-sheet electrets.
The criteria we used to down select media for
our application were for the most part
significantly more stringent than I believe
would be necessary for the development of a
reusable “N95” type filtering facepiece
respirator (FFR) for coronavirus protection for
the general population. I would think that the
data could be reassessed based on criteria
relevant to this goal to guide the selection and
evaluation of candidate nanofiber media.
As I recall, most of the nanofiber media (at
least the experimental surface treated ones) we
evaluated when I was at ECBC were fragile and I
believe would not hold up well to washing and/or
multiple use. Although I have limited
knowledge with this specific type of media, I
would think that nanofiber-based media exists in
the market that has been designed to be more
robust for other filtration applications.
There still is the issue of higher breathing
resistance inherent in nanofiber-based media
compared to electrets that significance would
depend on the specific performance parameters
used to design the facepiece (e.g., mask surface
area, breathing resistance, most penetrating
particle size targeted, etc.). For
example, in my opinion the NIOSH N95 initial
resistance criterion, not to exceed 35mm H20, is
too high for the general population which unlike
the workplace would include a higher proportion
of people that could not tolerate or should not
be wearing N95 masks (e.g., the elderly and/or
individuals with pre-existing medical conditions
like COPD, etc.). A criterion of less than
20 mm H20 would be a more appropriate design
goal for these and for that matter all wearers
since the primary complaint with N95s by far is
their breathing resistance, especially under
moderate to high workloads.
For the non-worker population, NIOSH N95
requirements would not apply. This would enable
the design of reusable filtering facepiece masks
using nanofiber or electret media that might
have reduced filtration efficiency (e.g., 90%)
but offer significantly improved breathing
resistance, comfort, and overall wear ability.
For health care and other high risk workers,
NIOSH-certified N95 masks meeting 42CFR84
requirements should be their “go to” masks for
optimum protection against contagious
bioaerosols. For the immediate future,
this is best served by existing electret N95
FFRs in the marketplace.
There is also the matter of mask sealing
capability, N95 NIOSH-certified FFR have an
assigned protection factor of 10 (i.e.,
individual able to achieve a quantitative fit
test of at least 100). I believe this
should also be a minimum design goal for FFR
designed for the general population for
protection against coronavirus. In my
experience, N95 FFRs that readily meet or often
exceed this protection level come in multiple
sizes and/or have some sort of elastomeric
sealing surface such as a neoprene, foam, or
other rubber peripheral face sealing component.
Bob McIlvaine:
Very informative, Paul.
You point out the challenge for many
people in wearing an N95 mask which is less
breathable.
Since protection of the more vulnerable
is a high priority why not let them wear
efficient masks with valves. In other words if a
major priority is protecting the vulnerable then
the concern about their contributing to viral
spread would be secondary to protecting them.
What is your reaction to this and how
would it effect media selection? ( We will
seek an answer in one of our next Alerts)
Global Protective Gear has Created an Innovative
Fabric and Gown to Help Solve the Current
Isolation Gown Shortage
With the surge in demand for gowns during the
current coronavirus pandemic the traditional
supply chain has not been able to keep up. The
primary raw material used to create gowns is a
non-woven fabric that is currently in short
supply.
To solve this raw material and gown shortage
Global Protective Gear is now manufacturing AAMI
Level 1 and Level 2 isolation gowns by using an
alternative textile. Global Protective Gear has
taken a lightweight 100% polyester and then
applied a polyurethane coating which results in
a waterproof equivalent. And now the
company is supplying 1 million isolation gowns
per week to hospitals and medical facilities
around the globe for use in low risk situations.
"We were not going to let a non-woven shortage
get in the way of providing a workable isolation
gown in this time of extreme need," said Gregory
Lilien, CEO, about their new product.
And since the new product is based on an actual
fabric, the gowns can actually be washed and
reused 5-10x. While some users will be
required to dispose after each use, in some
lower risk situations the gowns can be washed
and reused multiple times helping minimize costs
further. The current market price for an
isolation gown is a staggering $7-15 per pc.
In certain lower risk situations, the Global
Protective Gear gown can be reused multiple
times bringing the cost below $1 per use.
This is a step in the right direction to help
ease the current choke on the medical product
supply chain.
Global Protective Gear is also currently
building a new facility to begin production of
AAMI Level 3 and 4 gowns for June 2020.
Chinese Meltblown Capacity Far Exceeds That of
Europe
EDANA, says meltblown capacity in Europe is
limited, while output in Asia is much larger. In
China, the No. 1 producer, companies controlled
by the central government are expected to reach
production of over 70 tonnes of meltblown per
day, or more than 25,000 tonnes per year,
including new production lines of Sinopec and
China National Petroleum Corp [CNPET.UL], state
media Xinhua reported on March 30. That is up
from a current daily supply of 42.5 tonnes.
According to EDANA , production of overall non-wovens
in Europe was 2.8 million tonnes in 2019 but
meltblown was only a fraction of that.
CMPC will Manufacture Surgical Masks in Chile,
Brazil, Peru and Mexico
CMPC is a multinational corporation almost 100
years in existence delivering sustainable
solutions to its customers and consumers. The
Company produces and markets wood, pulp,
packaging products, household and non-household
sanitary protection products, and tissue paper.
Recently the company, through Softys, acquired a
total of five machines to manufacture
surgical-type masks.
Two of them have
already landed the weekend of April 10 in Chile
and Brazil and are in the process of being
assembled, while the others will be installed in
Peru, Mexico and also in Brazil (adding two in
that country).
Thus, CMPC will
achieve a production of 18 million 500 thousand
masks per month in the four countries.
In each country,
the masks will be delivered free of charge to
public health services, and only the percentage
necessary for the care of company workers will
be reserved.
The delivery of
the masks is expected to begin in Chile in early
May.
Procter &
Gamble is Converting Manufacturing Capacity to
Produce Face Masks at
a Dozen Manufacturing Sites Globally
According to CEO David Taylor, mask production
is already up and running in China and the
company has teams working to install capacity in
North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific, Middle
East and Africa.
One site
reportedly set to begin face mask production is
located in Mehoopany, PA, where production
should begin making masks in mid-May.
“It will increase the supply of masks for
hospitals, first responders and other
organizations by reducing market demand for
production and industrial use, “It helps us
create a safe working environment for P&G
people, and long term, it will allow us to
directly help many communities across the globe
where there is unprecedented need for protective
supplies," says P&G Charmin and Family Care
communications spokesman Loren Fanroy.
The effort requires installation of new
equipment or adjustments to existing equipment,
as well as new supplies and training. The
company will direct donations with established
partners who have the capability and reach to
help those affected by the COVID-19 outbreak,
Long said. The masks won’t be sold and the
company won’t be able to respond to individual
requests for help.
The P&G Mehoopany plant is actually two plants
in one. The Family Care side of the operation
employs about 1,200 and is responsible for
Charmin toilet tissue and Bounty paper towels
and napkins. The Baby Care operation employs
about 1,000 people and is responsible for
Pampers and Luvs diapers. Another site
reportedly shifting to face mask production is
P&G's Cabuyao City in the Philippines.
P&G has also installed new lines to start
production of hand sanitizer in five
manufacturing sites around the world, using it
to ensure our people can continue operating
safely and sharing it with hospitals, health
authorities and relief organizations. The
company is already expanding manufacturing
capacity further in additional facilities to
bring its capacity to 45,000 liters per week
when fully operational, Taylor adds.
Zuiko
Mask Production Line Can Produce 600 Per Minute
Machinery manufacturer Zuiko has
developed a face mask production line capable of
making 600
per minute. Each mask features a
three-ply, pleated design with a nose fitting
element. Zuiko has also developed alternative
ear hook components as a solution to shortages
of key raw materials.
The mask machine uses standard technologies from
diapers and sanitary napkin machines like
zero-speed splicing for continuous production,
precision material lamination, and soft welding
of materials. The product is inspected at
several points during the converting processes
and any product that is out of specification is
automatically rejected by the machine. Products
can be stacked into multiple pieces before
exiting to the packaging equipment or exiting
one piece at a time depending on the customer’s
needs.
Wisconsin Converters Producing Masks, Wipes
and Gowns
Wisconsin’s Converting industry, with its
wide-ranging capabilities, is committed to
maintaining production at full capacity to meet
challenged created by the COVID-19 pandemic
according to a Nonwovens Industry analysis.
These typically quiet small-to-midsize companies
are often under contract to large buying
entities ranging from medical distribution
suppliers to retail brand partners.
Converters produce hundreds of specialty
products that are used for medical protective
equipment and hospital supplies An
impressive example of the integration between
industries is illustrated by Little Rapids
Corporation, headquartered in Green Bay. “Our
Shawano Paper Mill supplies needs for specialty
paper materials at our Graham Medical and Graham
Beauty Divisions,” says Kirk Ryan, CEO and
president. “We convert paper, films and
nonwovens into patient gowns, O.R. caps, scrubs
for medical, EMS and other healthcare settings.
Our printing division produces packaging and
other applications.” Little Rapids products are
distributed nationally.
Biax-Fiberfilm and 5K fibers in the Fox Valley
represents high tech materials qualified in N95
mask components. “We are unique with our
meltblown and spunbond nonwovens for medical and
mask usage,” days Doug Brown, President. “Now,
we are expanding capacity beyond our two
machines running flat-out in Greenville.” “The
company is the only one known in Wisconsin to
meet fabric requirements for the N95 mask and
one of the very few in the U.S.,” says Susan
Stansbury, industry consultant.
Facilities have taken careful steps to protect
both their workforce and their customers from
the spread of COVID-19. Many processes are
naturally spread out in the industry’s
factories. “The industry is automated with
operators using touch-screen controls separated
from fellow co-workers, only two per lengthy
machine, for example,” says Masood Akhtar of
CleanTech Partners. “And this industry’s output
continues to assure employment, as well as
maintaining supply.”
Many of these converted products are in high
demand and are medical necessities. In addition,
Wisconsin is home to the leading manufacturers
in terms of numbers of
companies and
variety of wet wipes for antibacterial,
sanitizing and cleansing usage. Ranging from Top
Brass Inc., to Rockline Industries, KleenTest
and more than a dozen other manufacturers, this
converter-packaging group makes national and
healthcare brands. “Like a number of companies
in Wisconsin, we make these premoistened wipes
in canisters and ‘flat packs’ under contracts,”
says Brad McKay of Top Brass Inc. in Wittenberg,
WI. Other companies such as American Custom
Converting in Green Bay make folded dry wipes
and other cleaning and specialty items. “We are
known for our ability to adapt our equipment to
meet often-urgent needs,” says John Michaud of
ACC.
Biax-Fiberfilm
Corporation has Expanded Meltblown Fabric
Production for N95 Masks
“We are currently running around the clock on
two machines and the new capacity in Neenah will
be five times higher,” says Biax-Fiberfilm
President Douglas Brown. “The purchase of a
former Kimberly-Clark facility in Neenah allows
us additional space, plus some of
the common machine parts (usually long lead time
pieces) that will assist with our fast scale
up. The plant will be a mix between old and new
technology developed by Biax-Fiberfilm"
The company expects its production startup at
the new facility as early as June. With Brown’s
patented technology and association with the
world’s premier equipment supplier, Reifenhauser,
the transition is expected to be a smooth one.
Three 60-inch-wide production lines are planned.
The nonwoven meltblown fabric and a patented
spunblown system produces fabrics that few
others in the world can create. Biax-Fiberfilm
is currently producing these materials at its
headquarters in Greenville, WI. It is enough for
about 3.5 million masks per day.
These complicated nonwovens fabrics consist of
synthetic fibers stretched in an airstream and
flattened into rolls for mask production.
Exacting standards must be met, and quality
controls are part of the process. “Our materials
have been used in masks, physicians’ PPE and in
the filtration industry,” says Brown. “A key is
the breathable, yet tight ‘knit’ result that
keeps out the virus.”
Johns Manville
Plant in Richland, Mississippi, Started
Production of Face Mask Media
“Johns Manville is in a unique position to serve
a market that is fulfilling a great need across
the world,” said Mary Rhinehart, President and
CEO of Johns Manville. “We are proud of our
teams in Richland and throughout JM for finding
new ways to support the communities and people
who are on the front lines of this global
crisis.”
Most nonwoven production of face masks was
abandoned in the U.S. many years ago and moved
to Asia. Given the shortage of face masks in the
U.S. and Europe, JM’s Engineered Products
business decided to build on its existing
capabilities and help fill the market demand.
“Our high-performance nonwoven material is
designed to provide high levels of filtration
for various types of face masks,” said John
Vasuta, President of JM’s Engineered Products
business. JM media meets or exceeds Level 1 BFE
95% (Bacterial Filtration Efficiency) and VFE
(Viral Filtration Efficiency) requirements.
These results were verified by an FDA-registered
national laboratory.
The JM plant in Richland employs about 50 people
and produces a variety of filtration products
for various air and liquid applications using
polypropylene and polyester meltblown
technology. Richland’s meltblown filtration
media can be found in numerous industrial,
automotive, consumer products and FDA-approved
food and healthcare applications.
Shaoyang Textile Machinery Co Starts Up Sinopec
Melt Blown Line on March 29
Sinopec Yizheng Chemical Fibre Co. (YCFC)
successfully launched its first meltblown
nonwoven production line on March 29 in Yizheng,
Jiangsu province, which was manufactured by
Shaoyang Textile
Machinery Co, affiliated to Sinomach’s
subsidiary China Hi-Tech Group Corp. (CHTC).
Shaoyang Textile Machinery succeeded in reducing
the lead time to a month and delivered the
production line 13 days earlier than the date
required by the State-owned Assets Supervision
and Administration Commission of the State
Council (SASAC).
As the filter layer of a surgical mask, the
meltblown nonwoven material is an essential raw
component in mask production. Mask production
lines are expanding rapidly across the country
as an urgent part of pandemic prevention and
control, and a large number of manufacturers are
facing a shortage of raw materials. Shaoyang
Textile Machinery rose to the challenge and
undertook supply of YCFC’s 12 meltblown nonwoven
production lines.
After the company signed the supply agreement
with YCFC on Feb 25 it took a series of
effective measures to push forward the work and
successfully ensured the YCFC’s first meltblown
nonwoven production line would start on March
29.
When all 12 meltblown nonwoven production lines
are operational YCFC will have a daily output of
12 tons of N95 meltblown nonwoven or 18 tons of
surgical mask materials and be able to increase
production of disposable surgical masks by 18
million pieces a day.
Shaoyang Textile Machinery is a leading
enterprise in developing and manufacturing
melt-blown and spunbonded nonwoven equipment in
China. It has developed and produced 300 pieces
of such equipment, which have been exported to
more than a dozen countries and regions, with
great market effect in the industry. At present,
the company has received 37 orders for non-woven
equipment from enterprises such as China
National Petroleum Corp. and China Petrochemical
Corp. as well as various countries, including
India and Uzbekistan.
Taiwan, which is capable of producing 91 million
masks per week, instituted a ban on exports of
the material. To put Taiwan's output into
perspective, the United States' largest mask
producer, 3M, can supply 55 million masks per
month.
The changes to the Chinese and Taiwanese markets
"sent ripples through the supply chain,"
according to Nozi Hamadi of SWM.
Around that time, SWM and other American
manufacturers began taking steps to increase
production capacity. SWM boosted capacity by
250%, by hiring and training new workers and
converting its Middletown, Delaware plant so it
could run 24 hours a day.
Even with that increase, Hamidi said the company
has had to warn new customers about long waits
and referred some to competitors.
"We're trying to not turn away people, but the
reality of the situation at least for us is
we're sold out well into 2020, so if we take on
a new customer right now, they basically have to
wait," Hamidi said. "We have to say to them that
it might be until the end of 2020 or into 2021
before we can actually get you going as a new
customer."
Reifenhauser Teams
with Vietnamese Producer to Make Masks
German machinery manufacturer Reifenhäuser
Reicofil has temporarily converted two of its
test plants due to the corona pandemic to
produce meltblown nonwoven fabric for face
masks. The lines at its nonwovens technology
center in Troisdorf, Germany, otherwise
exclusively used for R&D and customer trials,
are turning out meltblown nonwoven fabric for up
to one million face masks daily.
|
|
|
German-made
meltblown
nonwoven fabric
will be shipped
to Vietnam for
conversion into
face masks.
Image courtesy
of Reifenhäuser
Reicofil. |
Reifenhäuser could not locate any German or
European producer for further processing into
face masks and says the nonwoven fabric is going
to a Vietnamese manufacturer for conversion to
the final product. The COVID-19 pandemic has
highlighted the dependence of Western nations on
Asian countries, particularly China, for
personal protective equipment (PPE). However,
Reifenhäuser continues to look for opportunities
to strengthen local supply during this crisis.
The company is in close contact with
associations, authorities and other companies.
To become more independent from China in the
area of medical supply, countries are
increasingly considering setting up their own
production according to Reifenhäuser Reicofil,
which now supports countries and other investors
to implement such projects as speedily as
possible by shortening the delivery time to only
3.5 months for meltblown lines to produce the
crucial middle material layer for face masks.
The first contract with the new delivery time
has already been concluded. The 1.6-meter-wide
Reicofil Meltblown line is scheduled to start
operation in August 2020. With an annual output
of 550 tonnes, the plant will produce H99 filter
material for up to 1.8 million face masks a day.
Bernd Kunze, CEO of Reifenhäuser Reicofil,
explains the current strategy as follows: “We
have considered what contribution we can make in
this crisis. This is of course mainly the fast
delivery of meltblown lines to build up
additional capacities. We have drastically
reduced our delivery times here. But we also
wanted to provide support at shorter notice.
Until the currently lacking capacities are built
up, we are stepping in with the test plants. Not
using this capacity now would be irresponsible
in our view.”
Kunze adds that material for other medical
protective clothing can also be produced at
short notice: “We assume that protective suits
and hoods will also become scarce. We are happy
to offer our help here as well. One of our pilot
lines can produce the corresponding material, an
SMS nonwoven, at short notice. In the medium
term, however, we should also expand production
capacities in Germany or Europe.”
Reifenhäuser Reicofil also supplies technology
for the production of other medical protection
clothing, such as surgical gowns. These products
are made of an SMS nonwoven structure – a
combination of spunbond (S) and meltblown (M)
materials. The corresponding Reicofil composite
lines can be delivered within ten to eleven
months.
Meltblown Capacity Insights
Berry Global Group is adding a fabric machine to
its Biesheim, France factory. The machine will
spin out 720 metric tons of filtration fabric
per year. That is enough for 480 million masks.
Berry has converted a pilot fabric line
in Virginia to making the filter layer, but its
output is only enough for 150 million masks a
year.
3M is making 35 million masks a month in the
U.S. and has recently been given permission to
import 10 million a month from their Chinese
plant. Another 5 million a month will be added
to the domestic supply by the end of April, then
10 million more by June.
290 million a month epidemiologists say should
go into fighting a pandemic in the U.S.
WHO Says Viruses
May be Aerolized After Deposit on Floors
With new evidence suggesting the virus may
linger in the air, the WHO says it is assessing
the ongoing research. In a study, not yet
peer-reviewed, researchers found particles of
the virus in the air of rooms where patients
were receiving care and adjacent hallways. The
particles they identified, however, were not
capable of causing infection. In another study,
also not yet peer-reviewed, researchers who
examined air samples in two hospitals in China
raised the theoretical concern that aerosols
could arise from surfaces contaminated by
droplets, for instance when hospital workers
shed their masks and gowns, or when floors were
cleaned.
This hypothesis is supported by the experience
of PathO3Gen Solutions.
The
installation of foot sanitizers at the hospital
entrance significantly reduces
Hospital Acquired Infections.
It is also supported by the extensive analysis
of cleanrooms in semiconductor and
pharmaceutical facilities.
Movement in the room increases the amount
of airborne particulate.
People emit particles from their noses and
mouths that are so small, instead of falling
right to the ground, they can float for a time
through the air. When a virus is carried by
these so-called aerosols, its odds of infecting
people are higher because of the potential for
them to be inhaled. Since February, the WHO has
said this method of transmission “can be
envisaged” in health-care facilities conducting
procedures such as a tracheotomy on people with
Covid-19. Researchers who aerosolized it
intentionally found active virus can float in
the air for up to three hours.
The 5 micron or smaller aerolized particles can
penetrate deeply into the lungs raising the
specter of more severe infection.
Another possible route of transmission arises
when infected people improperly wash their hands
after using the toilet, and then touch surfaces
that others come in contact with. Some patients
have been found to have live virus particles in
their stool. The WHO has said that the
fecal-to-oral route does not appear to be a
significant pathway for the novel coronavirus.
To the extent it is a means of transmission,
sanitizing bathrooms, food-preparation and
serving areas could help slow the virus, in
addition to regular hand-washing.
