Coronavirus
Technology Solutions
CRI Guardiair
HEPA can be
Mobile or
Stationary
Thailand in
Lockdown After
COVID Surge
Kauai in
Modified
Lockdown Due to
Virus
Experts Say Hi-Fi
Masks are a
Quick Fix for
India
Electrostatically
Charged
Nanofiber Media
has N98
Efficiency and
Low Pressure
Drop
School Outbreak
Tied to Faulty
HVAC System in
Pennsylvania
___________________________________________________________________________
CRI Guardiair
HEPA can be
Mobile or
Stationary
Cleanroom
International
Guardiair’s
rigorously
tested
technology
collects
particles as
small as 0.3
microns,
including
respiratory
droplets with
99.99%
efficiency. The
optional
integrated UV-C
lamp and ULPA
filter can
further increase
the level of
filtration and
decontamination.
While air
filtration alone
cannot account
for all
potential
sources of
infection,
Guardiair can
effectively help
to mitigate the
risk of airborne
coronavirus.
Guardiair can
supply
HEPA-standard
air filtration
as both a
free-standing
mobile appliance
or an installed
component,
making it easier
and simpler than
ever before to
set up clean
environments.
Additional units
can be used to
increase the
filtration
capacity of
larger spaces,
and Guardiair
can be moved
from
room-to-room
depending on
needs; so
several units
can be used to
meet variable
occupancy needs
throughout a
facility.
Guardiair is
actually capable
of cleanroom-grade
performance.
Like a lifeguard
on duty or a
fire
extinguisher
ready-to-go,
when Guardiair
is in the room,
people can feel
more confident
and breathe
easier.
Features
1. GS HEPA
filter: 99.99%
efficiency at
0.3 microns*
*Optional ULPA
filter 99.9995%
efficiency with
a most
penetrating
particle size
(MPPS)
Thailand in
Lockdown After
COVID Surge
Restaurants
closed and
bordered up May
3 following an
order to shut
all food outlets
due to a
COVID-19
resurgence in
Thailand. The
restaurants and
bars on the
Sukhumvit Road
area of the
capital Bangkok
were all packed
with tourists
just 18 months
ago before the
coronavirus
pandemic
strangled
international
travel. Hopes
that the
industry would
recover were
dashed again
last month
following an
outbreak of
infections of
the British
strain of the
virus and the
introduction of
a third
nationwide
lockdown, set to
last several
more weeks.
Restaurants
closed on May 1
as measures were
tightened to try
and control the
spread of new
infections.
Ministers have
also introduced
20,000 baht (456
GBP) fines for
not wearing a
mask outdoors.
Prime Minister
Prayut
Chan-o-cha was
recently fined
6,000 baht (138
GBP)after taking
his mask off
during a cabinet
meeting on April
26. Officials
hope that a
vaccination
roll-out will
allow tourists
to return to the
country – once
the most popular
in the world for
tourists – by
the start of
2022. The
country recorded
2,041 new
COVID-19 cases
on Monday (May
3) and 31
deaths, taking
the total number
of infections
recording since
the pandemic
began to 71,025
with 276 dead.
Kauai in
Modified
Lockdown Due to
Virus
Amid a rise
in coronavirus
cases,
Kauai will move
into Tier 3 of
the Kauai
Business and
Recreation
Guidelines on
Thursday, and
Mayor Derek
Kawakami has
proposed
amendments to
further restrict
indoor
gatherings while
still allowing
outdoor sports.
If approved by
Gov. David Ige,
the amendments
will cut indoor
social
gatherings to
five people from
10 in Tier 3,
although outdoor
gatherings will
be expanded to
25 people from
10.
The changes in
sports means
Tier 3
restrictions
would be the
same as Tier 4,
which allows
outdoor sports.
Indoor sports
“with
restrictions”
will be allowed
as well.
“When we created
the tier chart
last year, we
were facing the
reality that any
rise in case
counts put our
most vulnerable
population at
risk,” said
Kawakami in a
statement. “It’s
also important
that the tier
restrictions
reflect where we
are seeing
transmission.
Therefore, we
are revising our
tier chart to
allow outdoor
activities such
as sports, while
further limiting
indoor group
sizes. If you
must gather with
people outside
of your home,
stay outdoors
and wear your
mask.”
Department of
Health officials
have traced the
source of
multiple
clusters of
COVID-19
transmission to
two Lihue
restaurants on
Kauai, where
cases have
spiked in the
last few weeks
and were up to
16 Saturday with
66 active cases.
Infectious
persons also
attended two
events, one in
Lihue and one in
Kapaa.
“A number of our
recent new COVID
cases spent time
at Rob’s Good
Times Grill in
Lihue and/or
Troy’s Bar in
Lihue between
April 16 and 29,
and we have
evidence that
disease
transmission
took place, Dr.
Janet Berreman,
Kauai District
Health Officer,
said.
Anyone who was
at either
establishment
from April 16 to
April 29 may
have been
exposed to a
confirmed case
of the disease
and are
encouraged to
get tested as
soon as
possible.
The Health
Department said
persons infected
with COVID-19
attended on
April 24 the
Ekolu Mea Nui
drive-in concert
at Vidinha
Stadium in Lihue
and the Sheraton
Kauai Coconut
Beach Resort
Brunch Babes
show in Kapaa
April 17 and 18.
Although
COVID-19
guidelines were
in place at both
events, health
officials
encourage those
who attended the
events to be
tested.
Experts Say Hi-Fi
Masks are a
Quick Fix for
India
and several
other experts
have provided
important
recommendations
for mask use in
India in a NY
Times
article. This
group has
participated in
some of our
webinars and
provided
valuable
insights on
masking in the
past, They believe India is facing one of the greatest crises in its history and maybe the worst of any country during this horrific pandemic. Hospitals are running out of beds, staff and oxygen. Patients are dying in such large numbers that the bodies of the deceased are being cremated in mass funerals. The country is recording more than 300,000 new detected infections and over 3,000 deaths a day — both of which, experts say, are massive undercounts because of severely limited testing and don’t account for the terrible burden of diarrheal diseases, heart attacks and other conditions going untreated.
While some
initiatives are
forming to
provide
materials to
scale vaccine
production,
these efforts
will take weeks
or months to
have any effect
— India will
not be able to
vaccinate its
way out of this
surge quickly,
no matter what.
Even if the
United States
were to donate
all of its
vaccine doses to
India now, it
would still take
months to
immunize enough
people to
control the
outbreak.
Lockdowns, as
some states and
cities are
reinstituting,
can quickly
stunt
transmission of
the virus, but
in a country
with high rates
of poverty,
informal work
and unreliable
social safety
nets,
restrictions
need to be
implemented with
adequate social
and economic
support for
the vulnerable.
India has a
number of such
programs in
policy and on
paper,
but their
actual
implementation is fraught even
in non-crisis
times; none of
that was enough
to offset the
fallout from the
first set of
lockdowns. Any
new lockdowns
may
inadvertently
drive people
doing informal
work in cities
back to their
villages, where
they may carry
the coronavirus
and further
spread the
pandemic. But two other interventions could be implemented almost immediately to counter the tsunami of infection: more masks and rapid home-based antigen tests. The White House is sending millions of such masks and tests to India as part of the U.S. emergency assistance, which is a good start. But with more than 1.3 billion people in India, much more will be needed.
The coronavirus
is transmitted
by respiratory
particles,
including smaller
aerosols that
can get through
or around many
cloth masks.
“Hi-fi” masks
that have both
high-grade
filtration and a
tight fit around
the mouth and
nose can more
reliably block
these particles.
A number
of such masks
exist,
including N95s
and reusable
elastomeric
masks from
the United
States, KN95s
from China,
KF94s from South
Korea and FFP2s
from Europe.
India needs to
urgently assess
the availability
of these masks
and begin a
campaign to
procure and
distribute them
in huge numbers.
One U.S.
manufacturer,
for example,
has openly
offered to
donate hundreds
of millions of
such masks.
India should
also make
efforts to
accelerate
domestic
production.
Another option
would be to
mass-produce and
distribute “mask-fitters” that enhance
the seal formed
by surgical
masks,
which are
ubiquitously
available
throughout India
and have
sufficient
filtration to
block most
particles that
transmit the
virus. The
fitters have
simple designs
made from common
materials,
allowing for
immediate
scale-up of
their
production. One makeshift
approach that
can be used
until other
options are
available would
be double-masking,
with a cloth
mask used over a
surgical mask to
improve its fit.
If worn widely
when indoors and
among crowds,
these options
could rapidly
impede
transmission.
They can be
mass-distributed
through existing
channels such as
the national
food
supplementation
system, which
has a designated
person in each
village to
distribute food
rations. In
addition, public
uptake of such
masks will
require
politicians and
celebrities —
some of whom
have, in recent
months, not been
wearing masks in
public — to
promote them
now. Another challenge is whether people who screen positive will have the space and resources to isolate safely. This is tough to solve in a crisis, but communities could perhaps designate buildings or spaces in cities and villages for people to isolate with food and other essential needs supplied to them. Even if implemented imperfectly, widespread rapid testing would still be better than the alternative of people not getting tested. If done at scale, this approach could help cut off enough chains of transmission to help reduce the surge. As with masks, India needs to urgently assess the global supply chain for rapid tests so available supplies can be imported and deployed as soon as possible.
If pursued
nationally with
global support,
hi-fi masks and
rapid tests
could be scaled
up within a
matter of weeks
alongside
efforts to
engage
communities on
why these
measures are
important and
how to employ
them. These
measures could
damp the
exploding rates
of infection
while
longer-term
interventions to
boost care
capacity and
vaccination take
root. Masks and
rapid antigen
tests should be
used urgently to
start pushing
back the tide.
Without these
urgent
interventions to
slow
transmission,
the crisis is
likely to get
much worse
before it gets
better — and
thousands more
lives will be
lost.
Previous
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Devabhaktuni
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1. McIlvaine
Coronavirus
Market Alert
... mask
program January
28 - Outline of
the three steps
February 2 -
Step 3 Devabhaktuni Srikrishna
founder of
PatientKnowhow
will be
reporting on his
recent survey to
determine what
masks ...
Terms matched: 1
- Score: 28
- 4 Feb 2021
- URL:
http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/coronavirus/subscriber/Alerts/2021-02-04/Alert_20210204.html
2. McIlvaine
Coronavirus
Market Alert
... CST
On Friday,
February 5 we
will discuss the
three step plan
authored by Devabhaktuni Srikrishna
is the founder
of Patient
Knowhow , which
curates patient
educational
content on
YouTube ...
Terms matched: 1
- Score: 15
- 28 Jan 2021
- URL:
http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/coronavirus/subscriber/Alerts/2021-01-28/Alert_20210128.html
3. McIlvaine
Coronavirus
Market Alert
... McIlvaine
at
rmcilvaine@mcilvainecompany.com
Details on Mask
Options are
Available from
Fix the Mask Devabhaktuni Srikrishna
is the founder
of Patient
Knowhow https://www.patientknowhow.com/about/ ...
Terms matched: 1
- Score: 11
- 11 Jan 2021
- URL:
http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/coronavirus/subscriber/Alerts/2021-01-11/Alert_20210111.html
4. McIlvaine
Coronavirus
Market Alert
... to
see that
efficacious
masks are used,
and that is all
happening
quickly. Devabhaktuni Srikrishna
of Patient
Knowhow provided
details on a
very valuable
study showing
which masks are ...
Terms matched: 1
- Score: 7
- 5 Feb 2021
- URL:
http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/coronavirus/subscriber/Alerts/2021-02-05/Alert_20210205.html
Electrostatically
Charged
Nanofiber Media
has N98
Efficiency and
Low Pressure
Drop
We are
continuing to
pursue the
question of
whether
alternatives to
meltblowns can
provide
acceptable
efficiency in
masks while
maintaining good
breathability.
Wallace Leung of
Hong Kong
Polytechnic
University has
participated in
some of our
webinars and has
done extensive
research on
nanofiber media.
His
testing shows
that charged
nanofiber media
can result in
superior mask
efficiency.
The test filters
were arranged in
2, 4, and 6
multiple-modules
stack-up with
each module
having 0.765
g/m² of charged
PVDF nanofibers
(mean diameter
525±191nm). This
configuration
minimized
electrical
interference
among
neighboring
charged
nanofibers and
reduced flow
resistance in
the filter. For
ambient aerosol
size greater
than 80nm
(applicable to
the smallest
COVID-19), the
electrostatic
effect
contributes 100
- 180% more
efficiency to
the existing
mechanical
efficiency (due
to diffusion and
interception)
depending on the
number of
modules in the
filter. By
stacking-up
modules to
increase fiber
basis weight in
the filter, a
6-layer charged
nanofiber filter
achieved 88%,
88% and 96%
filtration
efficiency for,
respectively,
55nm, 100nm and
300nm ambient
aerosol. This is
very close to
attaining our
set goal of
90%-efficiency
on the 100nm
ambient aerosol.
The pressure
drop for the
6-layer
nanofiber filter
was only 26Pa
(2.65 mm water
column) which
was below our
goal of 30Pa
(3.1mm water).
For the test
multi-module
filters, a high
‘quality factor’
(efficiency-to-pressure-drop
ratio) of about
0.1 to 0.13Pa⁻¹
can be
consistently
maintained,
which was far
better than
conventional
filters. Using
the same PVDF
6-layer charged
nanofiber
filter,
laboratory tests
results using
monodispersed
NaCl aerosols of
50, 100, and
300nm yielded
filtration
efficiency,
respectively,
92%, 94% and 98%
(qualified for
N98 standard)
with same
pressure drop of
26Pa. The 2-6%
discrepancy in
efficiency for
the NaCl
aerosols was
primarily
attributed to
the absence of
interaction
among aerosols
of different
sizes. This
discrepancy can
be further
reduced with
increase number
of modules in
the filter and
for larger 300nm
aerosol.
The 6-layer charged nanofiber filter was qualified as a N98 respirator (98% efficiency for 300nm NaCl aerosols) but with pressure drop of only 2.65-mm water which was 1/10 below conventional N95 with 25-mm (exhaling) to 35-mm (inhaling) water column, and also far below that of conventional N98! The 6-layer charged PVDF nanofiber filter provides good personal protection against airborne COVID-19 virus and nano-aerosols from pollution based on the N98 standard, yet it is at least 10X more breathable than a conventional N98 respirator.
School Outbreak
Tied to Faulty
HVAC System in
Pennsylvania
Late last month,
eight
second-grade
students from a
single classroom
at Penn Valley
Elementary
School in the
Lower Merion
School District
near
Philadelphia,
Pa., tested
positive for
coronavirus. Officials
are calling it
the first
instance of
significant
in-school
transmission in
the district.
Because of the
number of
students
affected, staff
conducted an
investigation
and discovered a
potential cause
for the spread.
The LMSD
Operations
Department
assessed the
HVAC system of
the classroom in
question and
found that a
portion of the
ductwork in the
ceiling “was far
too closed,
allowing only
(approximately)
30% of the
maximum amount
of fresh air it
should have into
this specific
room,” said
Terry Quinlan,
the district’s
lead supervisor
of school health
and student
safety. Quinlan
added that, with
the current
information, the
district “cannot
say definitively
whether the
diminished fresh
airflow
contributed to
the outbreak;
however, it
could be a
factor.”
The Montgomery
County Office of
Public Health
(MCOPH) noted
that the spread
could also be
due in part to a
variant strain
of COVID-19,
“citing both the
rapid spread
within the class
and the fact
that two
vaccinated
family members
of impacted
students have
also tested
positive,” according
to the district
website.
All members of
the second-grade
class in
question have
been in
quarantine since
April 16. The
district is in
the process of
performing
indoor air
quality tests at
all buildings.
Lower Marion
School District
spokesperson Amy
Buckman had no
comment on
improper social
distancing might
have contributed
to the spread.
However, she
said that
classrooms
across the
district are
spacing students
at least three
feet apart in
accordance with
U.S. Centers for
Disease Control
and Prevention
(CDC)
guidelines, and
that “this is
the only
outbreak
impacting this
number of
students that
we’ve seen.”
Quinlan said
that district
ventilation
systems exceeded
all standards
prior to the
pandemic and had
been upgraded
since then. MERV
13 filters have
been installed
throughout the
district, as
well as bipolar
ionization
devices in
larger spaces.
K-12 Schools
Still have a
Long Way to Go
to Improve HVAC
K-12 schools
have implemented
some protective
measures to
improve indoor
air quality in
the face of the
COVID-19
pandemic,
prioritizing
ventilation and
filtration to
reduce the
transmission of
the virus, says
a report
released April
29 by the Center
for Green
Schools of the
U.S. Green
Building
Council.
However, school
districts still
have unmet IAQ
needs and face
numerous
challenges
related to costs
and outdated
building
infrastructure,
as well as
confusion over
conflicting IAQ
improvement
guidance from
different
groups, reports
“Preparation
in the Pandemic:
How Schools
Implemented Air
Quality Measures
to Protect
Occupants from
COVID-19.”
The study is
“important
because it helps
us understand
how existing
guidance
documents were
used so that we
can develop part
of a roadmap to
achieve better
IAQ in schools,”
says Corey
Metzger, the
schools team
leader for the
ASHRAE Epidemic
Task Force and a
principal of
Resources
Consulting
Engineers LLC.
ASHRAE, formerly
known as the
American Society
of Heating
Refrigerating
and
Air-Conditioning
Engineers,
provided the
Center for Green
Schools with
technical
assistance for
the study.
Eighty-five
percent of
survey
participants say
they referred to
ASHRAE's IAQ
guidance
documents, when
making changes.
More than 70%
said they used
guidance from
the Centers for
Disease Control
and Prevention
(CDC) and nearly
60% said they
referred to
guidance from
the state/local
departments of
public health or
education. Other
documents
mentioned by
respondents are
from the U.S.
Environmental
Protection
Agency, the
American
Institute of
Architects, the
U.S. Green
Building
Council, the
World Health
Organization and
the Healthy
Buildings
Program at the
Harvard T.H.
Chan School of
Public Health.
Some surveyed
complained there
were too many
materials from
too many sources
that contained
too many
different pieces
of advice. Many
called for a
single guide,
jointly created
by the various
bodies, but
there is no such
effort planned.
“We have not to
my knowledge
made an attempt
to create” a
document with
input from the
various groups,
says Metzger.
Anisa Heming,
director of the
Center for Green
Schools,
concurs. She
adds, “I believe
the source of
much of the
confusion has
come from
shifting
messages out of
the CDC on
building
ventilation. CDC
is not taking
input from the
community of
practice.”
Other findings
of the 28-page
report relate to
the funding of
K-12 school
education and
infrastructure,
which is
“fundamentally
inequitable,
given its
reliance on
local wealth.
The
pandemic has
only served to
further entrench
those inequities
along racial and
socioeconomic
lines,” says the
report.
The study
contains
responses to
questions about
protocols and
operations plans
implemented to
mitigate the
spread of
COVID-19 that
were gathered
from 47
districts
representing
more than 4,000
schools serving
over 2.5 million
students in 24
states.
Overwhelmingly,
comments from
survey
participants and
interview
respondents
credited any
success of IAQ
efforts relating
to the
coronavirus
response to
prompt
leadership, a
cache of
preexisting
wealth in
well-funded
districts and/or
past investments
in
infrastructure.
“School
districts
without funding
to keep their
buildings in
good condition
are in the worst
position to
manage air
quality during
this and future
pandemics,” says
Heming.
For those
districts not
well funded, she
adds, there may
be help from the
federal
government to
upgrade heating
ventilating and
air-conditioning
(HVAC) systems.
Since December,
the federal
government has
approved $176
billion in
emergency
COVID-19 relief
aid for K-12
schools,
including $54
billion in the
Coronavirus
Response and
Relief
Supplemental
Appropriations
Act, known as
the December
Relief Act, and
$122 billion in
the American
Rescue Plan Act.
“Design
professionals
have a big role
to play in
educating the
school systems
in their areas
that the money
can be used for
facilities,”
Heming says.
“Because there
are so many
allowable uses
for those funds
going to
schools, it’s
easy to miss all
the
opportunities,”
she adds.
The published
guidance by the
various groups
converges on six
major IAQ
strategies:
Increase fresh
air through
mechanical
ventilation;
Increase outdoor
air supply
through the HVAC
system;
Implement a
flushing process
between
occupancy
periods where
the HVAC system
runs for a
pre-specified
duration or
until a target
of clean air
changes has been
reached;
Increase outdoor
air through the
use of operable
windows; Open
windows to
increase the
outdoor flow;
Place fans in
windows to
exhaust room air
to the outdoors;
Remove airborne
contaminants
through
filtration;
Upgrade to
filters with
higher minimum
efficiency
reporting values
(MERV) ratings,
with MERV 13 or
better as a
target for
removing
airborne viral
particles in
recirculating
systems (MERV
ratings range
from 1-16, with
16 being the
most efficient
filtration);
Install air
cleaners with
high-efficiency
particulate air
(HEPA) filters.
The most
frequently cited
challenge to
implementing
protective IAQ
measures at
schools is
existing
physical plants
not designed to
support the
various
recommended
strategies.
School districts
that have been
able to act have
leaned heavily
on their
mechanical
systems, such as
increasing air
supply through
HVAC systems or
upgrading
filters to
implement
protective air
quality measures
for students and
teachers.
The installation
of higher-grade
MERV filters in
at least some of
the schools in
the district
significantly
increased by
120% during the
pandemic. Many
school districts
believed their
mechanical
ventilation
systems were too
old to be
compatible with
newer filters.
High cost and
lack of
availability of
filters due to
increased demand
were also
issues. Some
schools told
stories of being
sold MERV
filters that
were mislabeled
and ended up
having lower
than anticipated
ratings. Others
mentioned they
had inadequate
staffing for
filter
inspection and
maintenance.
Over half of
participants
estimated that
energy costs
were either
moderately more
or a lot more.
But 21% of
participants
estimated that
their IAQ
efforts had no
impact on costs.
It’s long been
widely accepted
that “better IAQ
means better
results for
students,” says
Metzger. “The
pandemic made it
a bigger issue
than in the
past.”
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