This TODAY segment from April 30 echoes what we’ve been saying for some time: COVID-19 is airborne, and what we breathe out may linger for hours without proper air flow. They mention recent findings that COVID-19 is up to nineteen times more likely to happen indoors than outdoors. That, of course, depends on the mitigation measures placed inside – such as outdoor air exchange, ventilation, and HEPA filtration.
NBC investigative and consumer correspondent Vicky Nguyen takes us on a tour of various indoor spaces. She brings an indoor air particle simulator, showing an office elevator, a movie theater, stores, and more.
It’s just a little reminder that despite vaccinations, we are not out of the pandemic yet. We’ve got to finish the job, and that means – in addition to continued mask use and vaccinations – improving indoor air flow and cleaning indoor air.
Throughout the segment, Nguyen takes a small pump to dispense some harmless but easily visible smoke meant to simulate the aerosols we breathe out.
In some spaces with open volume and good air circulation, the smoke dissipates quickly, as it does when outside. But in some spaces, like the theater or a small hardware store enclave, the smoke lingers – demonstrating a higher risk of COVID-19 transmission through the air.
Nguyen visits Professor Rainald Löhner from George Mason University, who runs the Center for Computational Fluid Dynamics. Dr. Löhner built computer models last year to simulate what happens in classrooms with poor circulation; he looked at some of Nguyen’s videos and described similar dangers.
If you’re interested in improving your indoor air quality, please feel free to reach out to Vaniman. You can find more information on our portable indoor HEPA air purifier here. Or, for large orders, please contact a Product Specialist:
