Photo by iMattSmart on Unsplash
Any infection control strategy can be compared to Swiss cheese. A single strategy is like a single barrier, full of holes. A number of slices of defences adds up towards a near blockage of transmission ? they all need to be taken together. We will focus here on updating the language based on newer and more accurate science, and on adding Measurement, Ventilation and Filtration to the solutions that architects and engineers can play a role in implementing.
We have gone through a year of life with Covid-19, yet the pandemic appears to be only worsening. Worldwide deaths have exceeded two million, and few countries seem to have it under control. New variants are proving more transmissible, and are spreading faster than vaccination campaigns. Part of the reason for Ontario?s prolonged agony and tragedy is that we continue to treat Covid?now known to be an airborne pathogen?with the lesser precautions appropriate to droplet transmission. At the most reductive level, architects design ?volumes of air? that we live and work in. The purpose of this article is to appeal to Canadian architects and engineers to consider how architectural and engineering interventions can reduce the transmission of Covid, most notably through improved ventilation, filtration and airflow design. In effect, interventions like ventilation and filtration are the equivalent of providing PPE for physical spaces?and are especially important for places like classrooms and l...