Step Three in the Three Step Mask Strategy Webinar Friday, Feb 5 at 10:AM CST

Should the Mask Program  be Pursued Separately or as Part of Safe Bubbles?

Everyone Should Wear Efficient Tight Fitting Masks According to Allen and Others

HCA Healthcare and A Plus Partner to Manufacture Masks in the U.S.

China Continues to be Major Supplier of Masks To the U.S.

Combining SARS Testing with Droplet Analysis

PM Levels are Four Times Higher Than Guidelines in the Largest Cities

Sacramento Decision to Spend $ 6 Million for UV in Schools is Challenged

McDonalds Installs UV in Multiple Locations

_______________________________________________________________________________

Step Three in the Three Step Mask Strategy Webinar Friday, Feb 5 at 10:AM CST

We need a program to insure that everyone is fitted with tight fitting efficient masks as quickly as possible. Distinguished researchers have developed a three step plan which we will be discussing on Friday.

On the 28^th we covered the background for Step 1 of the Friday webinar. Yesterday we covered Step 2 and  today Step 3.

The three steps are (l) launching an awareness blitz, (2) advise on which masks should be worn and (3) prioritize masks for the vulnerable. View the previous Alerts at http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/CATER/subscriber/default.htm

The webinar will include a  display and discussion of the three steps. We are encouraging input from all the participants and hope for a lively discussion and debate.

Click here to register for the February 5 webinar:

 https://home.mcilvainecompany.com/index.php?option=com_rsform&view=rsform&formId=92

3.      Prioritize masks for the vulnerable

 

a.       who

Are the vulnerable those with health issues and lack of funds or just health issues? One argument is that many middle and upper income families will prefer CATER masks to surgical masks with braces. There is also the question of mask life vs cost. Masks will be worn longer if the cost is higher. Mask use should be a function of human contact. People who have  little contact with those not in their daily lives can wear masks for fewer hours per day and for more days.

There are debates about how infectious children are and at what age they should start wearing masks. This also relates to mask sizes and whether the individual can find a mask that fits.

There are cases where people who were recently vaccinated become infectious. Also some vaccines are rated at only 60% efficiency. So we cannot automatically eliminate the vaccinated populations.

b.      location – should this extend to other countries?

Fareed Zakaria last Sunday predicted that until everyone in the world is vaccinated the pandemic will continue. New variants will arise in developing countries. They will then travel back to the developed countries and new infections will occur. At best it will be 2024 before herd immunity can be achieved through vaccinations worldwide.

If masks are combined with vaccinations in the developing countries, there is a good chance to vanquish COVID.

c.       how

                                                              i.      vouchers

There is an effort underway for the U.S. government to subsidize mask use.  One way used in other countries is to distribute vouchers which would be used to obtain a number of masks.

                                                            ii.      direct distribution

The Trump Administration and underwear manufacturers were close to an agreement for massive free mask distribution until it was determined that the masks looked too much like underwear let alone what efficiency level would have been obtained.

If the cost per day for 300 million Americans is $ 0.50 and the program extends for 180 days the cost would be $27 billion. If the program were just focused on the most vulnerable then the cost would be considerably less.

This is a small amount compared to the $1.9 trillion package now being debated in the U.S. Congress.

 

Should the Mask Program be Pursued Separately or as Part of Safe Bubbles?

Mandating effective masks and making them available at low cost is part of the push in the push-pull initiative. The details such as which type of masks will be supplied, insuring that they are worn properly, and worn when in public poses another set of challenges.

This is where the pull part of the initiative can be effective. If each school, sports stadium, fitness center, restaurant, church, or office building becomes a safe bubble, there will be major incentives to maximize the ability of masks to reduce the risk. Schools are desperately looking for ways to convince teachers and parents that their classrooms are safe. Hotels are already competing as to which is the safest.

Life is about making choices. You may choose a hotel, airline, or restaurant which is safer than others. This relative safety or risk is what is already being determined by many consulting companies.

So assessing the relative safety of a bubble is much more straight forward than a quantitative approach where there are other variables which are important but not relevant in making the choice. You may use quantitative risk to decide whether to go to any school, restaurant, or hotel.  But once the decision is made that the quantitative risk is acceptable then the relative risk becomes the determining factor in the facility choice.

 

Everyone Should Wear Efficient Tight Fitting Masks According to Allen and Others

Joseph Allen, an associate professor and the director of the Healthy Buildings program at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, penned an op-ed for The Washington Post on Tuesday, laying out the case for why “everyone” should be wearing an N95 mask at this point in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Allen isn’t the only local public health expert pushing for “better masks” as the pandemic continues. His colleagues at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Abraar Karan and Dr. Ranu Dhillon, are pressing for a national initiative that would distribute high-filtration masks, such as N95s, to every household in the United States.

“I’m not alone in calling for better masks, and certainly not the first,” Allen wrote. “But I am joining the chorus calling for them. This could be the key to slowing the pandemic and limiting spread from the new more highly transmissible variants until we all get vaccinated.”

While a typical cloth mask is expected to capture about half of the respiratory aerosols released when a person talks or just breathes, high-filtration masks like N95s filter 95 percent, Allen wrote. Two people wearing N95s results in a 99 percent reduction in potential exposure.

“In the scrambling for information and tools in early days of the pandemic, it was acceptable to just say any cloth mask will do because it’s true,” Allen wrote. “Any face covering is better than none. But we’ve learned so much since then, and we need to adjust our strategy.”

The professor said there’s no reason at this point in the pandemic why any essential worker — or anyone else — should be without better masks.

Before the pandemic, N95s cost about 50 cents and were easy to manufacture, according to Allen.

“We could reduce exposure by 99 percent for what should be $1 a mask,” he wrote. “(Prices are higher now because of the failure to produce an adequate supply.) Throw in better ventilation and some distance between people, and you have hospital-grade protections.”

According to Dr. Nahid Bhadelia, an infectious disease physician and the medical director of the Special Pathogens Unit at Boston Medical Center, not only does the United States need a national effort to get hi-fi masks to the public, but the government should also start with releasing a standard for the masks that are available.

“It’s unconscionable that we have the largest use of PPE by American public in history and the quality of these masks is not being moderated, standardized or regulated,” she wrote on Twitter. “It’s not just about N95s. Those may not work in every situation but there are other qualities to good masks aside from filtration efficiency including fit and seal, ability to withstand moisture (from sweat and saliva) etc. These qualities could be improved in consumer masks.”

What is needed is the equivalent of Operation Warp Speed, the government initiative started under the Trump administration aimed at accelerating development, production, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, for “high quality cheap PPE and improved ventilation in public places,” she said.

“Do not get me wrong — a mask is better than no mask,” she wrote. “Wear a mask. Using [the] excuse of no high quality masks to not wear a mask is like refusing a rescue raft because you weren’t given a boat at the time.

Here are some relevant tweets on the subject

Dr. Nahid Bhadelia

@BhadeliaMD

 

Jan 26

Agreed. And also we should start with releasing a standard for masks available to consumers. It’s unconscionable that we have the largest use of PPE by American public in history & the quality of these masks is not being moderated, standardized or regulated.

Quote Tweet

 

Ranu Dhillon

@RanuDhillon

 · Jan 26

Instead of double-masking, governments in South Korea & other countries got high-filtration masks to their populations We need a federal effort to do the same in the US twitter.com/AbraarKaran/st…

Dr. Nahid Bhadelia

@BhadeliaMD

 

·

Jan 26

It’s not just about N95s. Those may not work in every situation but there are other qualities to good masks aside from filtration efficiency including fit & seal, ability to withstand moisture (from sweat & saliva) etc. These qualities could be improved in consumer masks.

 

Dr. Nahid Bhadelia

@BhadeliaMD

 

·

Jan 26

I don’t think it’s enough to have guidance out in media or public health agency pages for what public should pick, although that’s helpful. I think the private sector would love guidance on how to get this right & welcome support to make it low cost to public.

Dr. Nahid Bhadelia

@BhadeliaMD

 

·

Jan 26

We need equivalent of Operation Warp Speed but for high quality cheap PPE & improved ventilation in public places. Such innovations would help not just during this pandemic but future threats from emerging respiratory viral threats.

@vivek_murthy

 

Dr. Nahid Bhadelia

@BhadeliaMD

 

And make these new innovations (cheap, comfortable, efficient) free. Make such high quality masks available to everyone. Pennies on the dollar, a preventing transmission is still cheaper & better for individual & public health than treatment.

 

 

HCA Healthcare and A Plus Partner to Manufacture Masks in the U.S.

HCA Healthcare Inc. entered into a joint venture business with Chino, Calif.-based healthcare supplies company A Plus International Inc. to manufacture personal protective equipment such as surgical and procedure masks in the U.S.

Under the collaboration, an Asheville, N.C.-based manufacturing facility is expected to soon begin producing masks according to safety and quality standards set by the American Society for Testing and Materials.

The increased demand for personal protective equipment, or PPE, due to the pandemic has "underscored how dependent we have been on supplies from overseas," said Jonathan Perlin, president, clinical operations group and chief medical officer of HCA Healthcare. The collaboration focuses on the domestic production of PPE to support medical staff on the frontline, he added.

Initially, both the companies will equally invest in the new business, which aims to cater to the increasing global demand of PPE courtesy of the COVID-19 pandemic. HCA noted that in 2020 it spent more than $196 million on PPE compared to 2019.

The joint venture will be co-managed by A Plus and HealthTrust — a global leader in purchasing aggregation and performance improvement for healthcare. HealthTrust's unit Resource Optimization & Innovation is the distribution partner and will provide PPE to HealthTrust member organizations throughout the U.S.

A Plus is a leading manufacturer of disposable medical and surgical supplies. It has  the following infrastructure in place in China:

• Kier bleaching system
• Gauze folding machine
• PE extrusion system
• Blown film system
• Non-woven printing capabilities
• Ultra-sonic bonding system
• Thermo bonding system
• Form-fill and seal capabilities
• High speed on-winding system
• Class 10/100 clean room with laundry
• Steam sterilization

 

China Continues to be Major Supplier of Masks To the U.S.

In the last few months U.S. suppliers have greatly increased production of masks but they have a long way to go if the vision is to match Chinese output.

In September 2020 China accounted for more than 85% of all U.S. imports in the category dominated by N-95 respirators, disposable and non-disposable face masks, surgical drapes and surgical towels, and, oddly enough, including U.S. flags.

The textile category for these personal protection equipment items is growing more rapidly than any of China’s other top 15 imports into the United States this year, according to the latest Census Bureau data, which runs through July. Those top 15 imports accounted for almost 46% of U.S. imports from China.

While overall U.S. imports from China are down 14.71%, which is more than overall U.S. imports, which are off 12.04%,

While dominated by masks and other PPE, it is a broad category that includes furniture movers’ pads, pillowcases and wall banners — as long as they are made of textiles — and U.S. flags.

Through there are a number of U.S. manufacturers of U.S. flags, imports from China in the first seven months of the year accounted for 98.91% of the total. The $4.28 million in U.S. flags, a trifling compared to $1.4 billion in N95 respirators, was the lowest total since 2015. The percentage, however, has been consistent for years.

Though the category is broad, it does not, of course, necessarily capture all personal protection equipment.

Looking more broadly at the leading U.S. imports from China through the first seven months of the year, 12 of the 15 fell in value.

In addition to the textile category, a category of miscellaneous plastic articles — which also includes products that could be related to the pandemic, such as pneumatic mattresses, plastic facemasks and other laboratory ware — also increased 13.22% but accounted for a record 53.72% of all U.S. imports.

 

Combining SARS Testing with Droplet Analysis

SGS has the capability to combine the aerosol ventilation testing with its SARS testing. One use of the viral RNA test is to see how well a surface has been cleaned. It would seem that an equally important function is to see how efficient or inefficient the filter system is in actually reducing virus spread.

SGS offers lab-based testing for the presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19 on environmental surfaces and air samples. Testing for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA is the most direct and definitive test for ensuring completeness of disinfection procedures. The COVID-19 virus analysis is based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adapted and validated for environmental samples in consideration of test equipment and consumables. Especially in critical high-risk scenarios, and for targeted testing of areas of known contamination, appropriately validated RT-qPCR methods can provide the highest level of confidence.

WHAT IS RT-QPCR? RT-qPCR, or Reverse Transcription, quantitative-Polymerase Chain Reaction measurement is a technique used to measure RNA. It works by converting the RNA into its complementary DNA using a transcriptase enzyme, and then amplifying the DNA using the polymerase chain reaction. A fluorophore (or fluorescent chemical compound) is added to the mixture to be able to read the fluorescence of the amplified cDNA. In the Covid-19 RT-qPCR test, the specific primers and probes used ensure that only RNA from the Covid-19 virus is detected.

 WHAT DOES THE RT-QPCR TEST REPORT? The test reports the presence/absence of RNA characteristic of the SARS-COV2 virus that causes COVID-19. The test is based on CDC RT-qPCR panel(1) and measures the same gene targets as the clinical tests used for Covid-19 testing in humans. As this RT-qPCR assay tests for the presence of RNA fragments that are unique to the Covid-19 virus, and no other virus, it is the most direct, specific and sensitive test for the presence of Covid-19 RNA on a surface.

WHY USE RT-QPCR? While coronaviruses are easily destroyed by the application of soap and multiple other cleaning and disinfection agents, their presence on a surface is the most definitive measure of incomplete cleaning. For critical areas, RT-qPCR testing provides the greatest confidence on the efficacy of a cleaning and disinfection protocol.

WHAT MATRICES ARE THE TEST OFFERED IN? The RT-qPCR test for the SARS-CoV-2 virus is currently offered in: • Surface swabs, typically 5 cm x 5 cm surface wiped per swab • Air samples from endotoxin-free polycarbonate cassettes and PTFE cassettes. The polycarbonate cassettes can be sampled at up to 15L/ min, at least 2 hrs is recommended. The PTFE cassettes, SKC PTFE Filter, 0.3 µm, 37 mm. For example require a lower flow rate and longer sampling time (~ 2-4L/min, and 10 hr sampling time

 

PM Levels are Four Times Higher Than Guidelines in the Largest Cities

The average level of particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution in the largest cities in the world is 39 ug/m3, nearly four times higher than the World Health Organization guideline of 10 ug/m3, according to analysis conducted by NGO OpenAQ. 

According to the research, the worst affected cities in the world are all in Asia, with Pakistan, India and China all having the highest measured levels. 

OpenAQ has highlighted that this data illustrates the stark global inequalities when it comes to air pollution, with over half of the world’s population having no access to official government data on air quality. 

In order to address the problem, a coalition of NGOs have come together to create a new open-source data platform that uses low-cost air pollution sensors to provide the general public with access to air quality data from across the world. 

The platform brings together low-cost sensor air quality data from the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), as well as from Purple Air, HabitatMap and Carnegie Mellon University. 

While prices of the sensors con vary, the sensors can be installed by individual users, communities or governments to increase coverage and access to air quality data. 

Jeremy Taub, executive director of OpenAQ, said: ‘We want to encourage new, affordable solutions to monitor air quality, and bring that data to OpenAQ to increase funding and action for those communities who are most affected by air pollution. It will fill important data gaps allowing communities to develop solutions to air pollution.’

Millie Chu Baird, associate vice president at Environmental Defense Fund, added: ‘One of the keys to fighting air pollution inequity is data transparency – ensuring that as wide a range of people as possible have access to as much of it as possible. It’s foundational to the ability to take acti0n.

 

Sacramento Decision to Spend $ 6 Million for UV in Schools is Challenged

In the race to reopen schools, districts across California and the country are beefing up safety measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus — more masks, more sanitizers, new plastic barriers.

As part of the effort, Sacramento City Unified School District purchased more than $6 million worth of classroom air cleaners and replacement parts in November, at a cost of $688 per device.

But several experts have identified potential concerns about the devices, saying the air cleaners that Sacramento City schools purchased are overpriced, inefficient and have unnecessary and unproven technology.

Sac City Unified purchased 6,000 V-PAC SC air cleaners, manufactured by Ultraviolet Devices, Inc., from Johnson Controls. The units, to be deployed in every classroom and common space, have “the best technology for mitigating COVID-19 at a fraction of the cost of other compatible portable filtration devices, such as HEPA filtration devices,” a November school board report stated.

“The COVID-19 virus is destroyed using an Ultraviolet-C light instead of trapping the virus in a filter,” the district report stated.

Industry groups have reported that such claims about UV-C light technology are not backed up with sufficient scientific research. Several studies and researchers also identified concerns about a piece of the device that could potentially create harmful chemicals such as formaldehyde, a known human carcinogen.

“There are many conventional portable HEPA filters that provide more than twice the clean air delivery than the UVDI device and the power consumption is just 100 watts … and for a fraction of the cost,” Bud Offermann, president of Indoor Environmental Engineering, said in an email.

Experts said portable air cleaners with HEPA — high-efficiency particulate air — filters are effective at capturing particles the size of the virus that causes COVID-19 and would have been far more cost-effective.

“There are two things I’m worried about. One is using money wisely to best support school reopening,” said Theresa Pistochini, the engineering manager at the UC Davis Energy Efficiency Institute and Western Cooling Efficiency Center. “The other is creating a false sense of security.”

State and local health authorities have not required upgrades to school air filtration systems as a requirement of reopening. But the district is “committed to going above and beyond the recommendations by federal, state, and county health officials to protect the safety of our students, staff, and community,” district spokeswoman Tara Gallegos said in a statement.

Sac City Unified personnel spent six months reaching out to vendors and reviewing their products and ability to address the virus, Gallegos said in an email. The Sacramento City Unified School District board approved the purchase in November.

The district had to weigh several factors, she said: It needed to purchase devices with CARES Act funding before the end-of-year deadline. Officials also considered, among other things, whether devices were certified by the California Air Resources Board, how many amps they pulled and how soon they could be purchased.

“The longer COVID continues, the more companies are able to meet these requirements,” Gallegos said in an email. “UVDI was the only company at the time that met all of these requirements.”

The district spent $497,500 in CARES Act money last year to hire PBK Architects, a firm that will inspect all classrooms and schools before bringing students back “to assure that our students and staff are in a space that is sufficient to mitigate the spread of COVID-19,” she added.

Because infection rates in Sacramento County remain high, public health and school officials have no clear timeline for when Sacramento City schools may reopen for modified in-person learning.

But when they do, the district will enforce a variety of other methods for reducing the spread: Students’ temperatures will be measured. Plastic barriers will be put up in offices and libraries. Desks will be spread further apart. Disposable masks and hand sanitizer will be abundant. Many teachers and staff will have likely already gotten the vaccine, and rapid COVID-19 tests will be available on-site. When weather permits, doors and windows will be opened to let in fresh outside air.

UVDI declined to comment on its devices. In an email, spokesman Will Gerard said the company deferred to Johnson Controls.

In a statement, Johnson Controls stated that the air cleaners “met a demanding set of requirements to provide an effective solution delivering improved air quality to the Sacramento City Unified School District with minimal infrastructure change, while meeting time requirements.”

Common portable air cleaners, also known as air purifiers, used in homes and offices are often mechanical — meaning, the device pumps air through a physical filter to catch particles, viruses, bacteria and other contaminants. HEPA filters by definition are excellent at removing fine particles in the air and are widely available on the market.

Portable air cleaners alone are not enough to protect people from COVID-19. Though they can reduce airborne contaminants, including viruses that linger in the air indoors and spread farther than six feet, there isn’t direct evidence yet that air cleaners stop transmission from close contact like masks and social distancing have been shown to do.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended opening windows and doors when weather permits to allow for outside air ventilation and suggests building operators “consider portable high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) fan/filtration systems to help enhance air cleaning.”

Test data has not been made available by UVDI or Johnson Controls regarding the V-PAC SC air cleaner.

The industry standard for judging how effectively a portable household air purifier cleans the air is its clean air delivery rate. The CADR is measured using the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers AC-1 test, also known as an AHAM AC-1 test.

The test reveals how efficiently a device is producing clean air for a room. For instance, a device could have a high-quality filter, but if it doesn’t actually push much air through the filter, it might not be an effective air cleaner

The district would need to use at least eight devices per 1,000 square foot classroom to effectively clean the air. Given how inefficiently it cleans the air, the devices are “10 times more expensive than something you could buy on Amazon,” Offermann said.

The Bee had requested a copy of the device’s AHAM AC-1 report from the school district. The district initially declined, stating it didn’t exist for the air cleaner because it is a “commercial” device. After presenting a copy of the obtained report, both the district and Johnson Controls confirmed that the report and its findings are accurate.

Though not stated on the device’s technical specifications, Gallegos said that the devices use a HEPA-level filter. Even if that’s the case, “there’s hardly any air going through it,” Offermann said.

“If the unit performance does not meet our district’s needs, we will explore other options,” Gallegos said in an email.

Unlike more common household air cleaners with just a mechanical filter, the V-PAC SC devices have ultraviolet-C light and photocatalytic oxidation reactor. While UV-C light can effectively kill bacteria and viruses, it’s most effective for sanitizing objects, surfaces or spaces over an extended period of time. UV-C light may be able to inactivate the virus that causes COVID-19, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but there is currently limited research.

There is not enough scientific data to prove how effective it is for reducing viruses passed through an air cleaner device, Offermann said.

“The concern I have is that the UV-C device packaged inside an air filter is unlikely to have a significant impact, because the air is moving quickly and is in contact with UV-C for a short period of time,” Pistochini said.

The V-PAC SC air cleaners were certified by the California Air Resources Board in April, which requires testing for electrical safety and ozone emissions.

CARB certification does not assess how effective an air cleaner is, according to spokeswoman Melanie Turner.

“There is not enough information to assess (UV-C technology’s) effectiveness for virus reduction when it is contained within an air cleaner device,” Turner said in a statement. “The addition of UV-C does not add any functionality for particle removal.”

In an email response, Johnson Controls spokesman Charles Bickers said it would be more accurate to say, “that the UV-C filtering is in addition to the filtering.”

The devices also have a photocatalytic oxidation, or PCO, grid, which is activated by the UV-C light and is intended to breakdown pollutants through an oxidizing process. But studies have also raised concerns about PCO technology.

“There is also the potential for an incomplete oxidizing process, which produces by-products of reaction that can be more toxic or harmful than the original constituents (e.g., formaldehyde),” according to the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.

Shelly Miller, a mechanical engineering professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, said the manufacturer would need to release testing data on the device to rule out the formation of harmful chemicals.

In general, Miller said she doesn’t recommend school districts on a limited budget purchase air cleaners with “bells and whistles” since it will cost significantly more than straightforward HEPA filters that produce clean air efficiently.

She emphasized it is better to buy more air cleaners and better masks, rather than invest in air cleaners with untested add-ons.

In a statement, Johnson Controls said that “the airstream purification and disinfection solution provide a combination of technologies to enable improved air quality and will be complemented by other mitigation procedures (mask wearing, washing hands, etc.) in place to address the risk of COVID-19 infection.”

HEPA air cleaners and filter replacements for large rooms can easily be purchased online for a couple of hundred dollars on sites like Amazon and be plugged into normal home wall sockets without issue.

The district “did not entertain the idea” of purchasing cleaners marketed for residential use, since the district is made up of commercial buildings and those units “would not stand the test of time in the long run” operating 24/7, Gallegos said.

Residential units are designed to be run constantly, however. Both Pistochini and Offermann said there’s nothing that makes the V-PAC SC devices “commercial,” such as having a higher CADR or stainless steel covering. The presence of an industry-standard AHAM AC-1 report for the device — a test conducted on portable household air cleaners — suggests it is not a commercial device.

The district stated that the commercial HEPA air cleaners it considered purchasing would have required significant and costly electrical upgrades to school sites to power, or they otherwise overload most circuits.

The manufacturer states the V-PAC SC air cleaners draw .89 amps and don’t require any electrical upgrades, according to Gallegos. The district considered the Carrier OptiClean, a mechanical HEPA air cleaner, but the units cost about $2,000 each and draw 5 amps.

“We’ve continued to express and demonstrate that we are willing to go above and beyond,” Gallegos said in an email. “These are not empty words, but the reality of the extensive work of our district to protect our staff, students, and community.”

https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article248431190.html

 

McDonalds Installs UV in Multiple Locations

McDonald's franchises in three of the nation's largest cities — Chicago, Dallas and Houston — are using ultraviolet light technology to neutralize pathogens on restaurant surfaces and in the air. Franchise owners have partnered with Grand Haven, Michigan-based, UV Angel to take the added health and safety measure, according to Paul Byrne, UV Angel vice president of product. In total, the company told QSRweb it has installed 345 units of two varieties in the stores in Texas and Illinois.

Under the partnership, the McDonald's locations have been equipped with proprietary ultraviolet light surface and air technology, allowing the fast food restaurants to neutralize bacteria, viruses and fungi around the clock. UV Angel specified that this tech is room-level, which it said acts on pathogens at their sources, where and when they are spread. The systems that use technology like HEPA filter, as well as UV-C HVAC units are building-level source controls.

"While we have already taken significant steps to help ensure the safety of our employees and customers, we believe the addition of UV Angel technology is a true game-changer," Matt Kades, a Houston-area McDonald's owner-operator, said in the release. "We want the air inside our locations to be as safe as the air outside, and we are proud to be one of the first restaurants in the world to add this technology to our infection control arsenal."

The censors are mounted at the ceiling level and continuously draw room air into a sealed chamber, where it is treated with UV-C light to destroy airborne pathogens. This engineering control system operates independent of the HVAC system for automated round-the-clock source-level environmental air treatment, based on systems the company has previously provided in hospitals to control the often deadly hospital-acquired infections.

"As has been published in many studies, people are the main source of contamination and disease transmission," Tom Byrne, UV Angel CEO, said in the release. "The recent pandemic highlights the need to add controls right at the room level and source of potential contamination.

"While our company started in health care, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the use of our technologies in many different industries looking to create measurably safer indoor environments for staff, customers, and families."

Paul Byrne said the company works closely with partners, including McDonald's to make the added safety initiatives known to customers through in-store materials, social media advertising and both local and national marketing efforts.

"Some partners are displaying in-store or in-restaurant signage to showcase the effectiveness of UV Angel products, using the findings from independent studies on our UV-C technology.

"We are seeing significant national demand for UV Angel's technology across a wide variety of sectors, hospital systems, schools, restaurants, dentist offices and more.”