Aerosol Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in Two Dormitories - Hubei and Shandong Provinces, China, 2020

China CDC Wkly. 2022 Apr 8;4(14):298-301. doi: 10.46234/ccdcw2022.064.

Abstract

What is already known about this topic?: Aerosol transmission is one route for the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, uncertainty remains on the threshold of ventilation rate in its occurrence.

What is added by this report?: Based on two cases in Shandong Province and Hubei Province, the effect of wearing masks and the minimum ventilation required to reduce coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) aerosol transmission was determined.

What are the implications for public health practice?: No masking and low ventilation rates lead to a relatively high contribution of aerosols to COVID-19 transmission. Thus, public awareness of wearing masks should increase and the ventilation rate should be sufficiently higher than the minimum required ventilation.

Keywords: Aerosol transmission; COVID-19; Infection proportion; Ventilation rate.

Grants and funding

Tsinghua University Spring Breeze Fund (20201080519), National Key R&D Program of China (2020YFC0861500)