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PRESS RELEASE
Poor air quality can be decisive in the spread of the coronavirus
- In the face of the proliferation of opportunistic businesses, the COGITI recommends seeking advice from expert professionals in the field, who will always provide solutions based on exclusively technical and scientific criteria.
- Expert engineers in air quality systems and the medical community have joined synergies, through the creation of a working group, to carry out a technical study of the particular situation caused by COVID-19 and those derived from other pathogens. , together with the General Council of Official Medical Colleges of Spain.
Madrid, June 9, 2020.- Since the pandemic caused by COVID-19 began, scientists and researchers from all over the world have not ceased in their efforts to know in depth the main keys to this disease. The ease with which SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted between people and the reasons that cause it to spread largely focus their investigations.
As of today, it is certain that close contact with people infected with the coronavirus is the main cause of infection, but not the only one. Recent studies carried out by various scientists assure that transmission of the virus is possible in small droplets in suspension "in closed and poorly ventilated rooms." Therefore, it is extremely important to prevent overcrowding and provide good ventilation in interior spaces, with good air quality, to prevent the spread of the virus, which implies the need to check the correct operation and design of air conditioning installations. and ventilation.
However, to ensure that these checks are effective and safe, they must be carried out by professionals who are experts in air quality and air conditioning and ventilation installations, since if not, there is a great risk in the event of finding opportunists that lately are abounding, and that the only thing they want is to take advantage of these situations without any guarantee and leading to deceit.
For this reason, from the General Council of Industrial Technical Engineering of Spain (COGITI), which integrates 49 professional colleges of Graduates and Industrial Technical Engineers and more than 80,000 members, they want to warn society as a whole, and especially merchants , hoteliers and small business owners, about the proliferation of "miracle" systems and products that are currently being offered as solutions to mitigate the coronavirus, under the misleading "COVID FREE" label, which they can advertise in their establishments.
Given the confusion that this situation is causing, COGITI recommends that they seek the advice of professional experts in the field, who protect them from the numerous deceptions that are taking place. In this way, it wants to share the knowledge of this group of engineers, in order to provide transparency in the reprehensible and opaque situation of this type of "business opportunism", and at the same time promote good sense in the social behavior of citizens to achieve, among all, positive advances in the so-called “new normal”.
Recommendations on air quality
In this sense, COGITI has launched a decalogue with recommendations, both to society in general, and to the owners of small and medium-sized activities with direct attention to the public (shops, hotels, aesthetics, health sector, etc.), in in relation to air conditioning and ventilation installations:
1st.- To ensure compliance with the organizational measures officially established by the health authorities for the development of activities, their premises and those related to personal distancing.
2nd.- Air conditioning and ventilation facilities are one of the key points to achieve the objective of minimizing the risk of contagion and spread of COVID-19.
3ª.- Currently there are no HVAC systems or equipment capable of guaranteeing, under official scientific-technical criteria, a “COVID FREE” seal for establishments and activities with presence and rotation of people in interior spaces.
4th.- There are no identical situations in the activity-establishment-climate and ventilation system relationship, so it is currently not possible to apply standard technical solutions in these systems, which guarantee the absence of risk of contagion and spread of COVID-19 for establishments and activities with presence and rotation of people in interior spaces.
5ª.- It is essential not to rush into making intervention decisions in air conditioning and ventilation installations, such as the purchase of new equipment or modification of installations with the aim of “showing off” in establishments with a misleading “COVID FREE” label, since that only the opposite effect will be achieved, that is, promote relaxation of users in their necessary preventive precaution against contagion.
Working group with the General Council of Official Medical Colleges
The COGITI recommends, therefore, to seek the advice of professional experts in the field, who will always provide solutions based on exclusively technical and scientific criteria, to find out if an installation meets the necessary requirements that minimize the spread of COVID-19 in a establishment.
In this way, expert engineers in air quality systems and the medical community have joined synergies, through the creation of a working group, which will aim to carry out a technical study of the particular situation caused by COVID -19 and those derived from other pathogens, together with the General Council of Official Medical Associations of Spain.