VENTILATION must be improved in buildings and aeroplanes to reduce the risk of covid-19 spreading via the air, according to recommendations from several organisations, including the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. It is unclear if this advice is being followed. We know the coronavirus can spread via droplets in air, but there is still debate about the details and how much this form of transmission contributes to the virus's spread. What is clear is that the risk is greatest if you spend a long time in a confined, poorly ventilated space with others who might be infected - something that many workers cannot avoid. For this reason, scientists and safety experts think there should be more emphasis on improving ventilation, in addition to measures such as handwashing and social distancing. "The most significant measure is to increase ventilation to remove the virus- laden droplets from the indoor environment where they were exhaled," says Lidia Morawska at the Queensland University of Technology in Australia. When infected people cough, sneeze, sing, talk or even breathe, they emit droplets containing the coronavirus into the air. The closer you are to them, the more likely these droplets are to end up in your eyes, nose or mouth. This much everyone agrees on.
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