According to many recent opinions of epidemilogists and virus chasers, ventilate should be the FIRST priority now that there is more understanding of transmission. Good luck with that this winter.

So it should be AIR - SPACE - FACE (covering).

Followed by HANDS (wash) and maybe TOPS (can't think of a good way to say to clean frequently touched surfaces) and SLOPS (bathroom transmission is a high risk areas apparently but nobody likes to talk about stuff like pee & poo).

The government only do stuff in 'threes' as that's what their marketing gurus promote. 

Nobody likes to change a catchy saying even when the basis behind it changes. As demonstrated in the H&S world "all accidents are preventable" "safety is number one priority" etc.

Agree ventilation should be the 1st Priority.

However what do we take as a ventilation rate e.g. Volumetric air change rate(VAR),as in the CIBSE guide Offices 4-6 (VACR)

What aout buses in winter with CLOSED windows?

Research report from September this year...heat humidity and airflow all have a part to play...slong with the droplet size... 

Originally Posted by: Lawlee45239

In 10 years time we will have all the answers! The 'we should have done' ! 

The Asia-Pacific countries leared these lessons from the SARS outbreak.  Hense why the social and ecconomic impact in NZ, Aus, SKorea etc has been so much less than in the UK. 

The UK (and much of Europe/America) paid scant attention to the lessons of SARS and are learning a far harsher lesson. , IMO.

Increasing evidence suggests that airflows is important for estimation of the risk of contracting COVID-19 and available data shows that indoor transmission of the virus far more than outdoor transmission, possibly due to longer exposure times indoors. 

thanks for your esponses,regarding indoor air & lockups where the virus spread could be difficult to contain

Has anyone any data regarding HM prisons?

i.e. What guidance do we us from the CIBSE guide e.g. ACH for WCs & 6-12 ACH?

Also any idea of cell size?

Don't overlook the indirect transfer of the virus via surfaces. Several studies have shown that this is an important, often overlooked, route. 

"In conclusion, we showed that a moderate protein concentration in droplets markedly increased the infectivity of SARS-Cov-2, suggesting that a protein-rich medium like airway secretions could protect the virus when it is expelled and may enhance its persistence and transmission by contaminated fomites. Accordingly it is plausible that fomites infected with SARs-Cov-19 play a key role in the indirect transmission of coronovirus disease (COVID-19). This finding supports surface cleaning as a necessary action that should be enforced and repeated because it may play a key role in halting SARS-Cov-2 transmission and mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic. – Pastorino B, Touret F, Gilles M, de Lamballerie X, Charrel RN, Prolonged Infectivity of SARS-Cov2 in Fomites, Emerging Infectious Diseases, 26, 9, Sept 2020."

Since the indirect transmission almost inevitably involves the hands hand decontamination is an important element in any comprehensive management approach. However, the evidence is that hand washing is not the most effective way of achieving this.