Does air conditioning spread the coronavirus? Experts say there's little evidence
COVID-19 cases are spiking across Southern and Western states just as rising summer temperatures are drawing people indoors to seek relief in the air conditioning. But can air conditioning facilitate the spread of the coronavirus?
“The opening up of facilities from my point of view, and I think this is shared by colleagues, that doesn't depend on the air conditioning, it's the gathering of the people for long periods of time,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Schaffner said this study may be an interesting outlier, but noted that there have been no further stories like this documented with the millions of infections worldwide. While it’s theoretically possible that air conditioning can facilitate the spread of the virus, a lot of factors would have to align for that to happen, such as the timing of a cough or a gush of air at the right moment, Joseph Fair, a virologist and a NBC News contributor, said.
With proper ventilation, coronavirus transmission shouldn’t be an issue, said Bill Bahnfleth, a professor of architectural engineering at the Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment. In the instance where the virus may have spread in a restaurant, the ventilation didn’t meet the standards used in the U.S., he said.
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