Expert calls for ventilation guide à la S'pore to curb Covid-19

 

Infectious diseases expert Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman has called on the government to release guidelines on ventilation in indoor spaces to curb the transmission of Covid-19.

“We need a loud and clear acknowledgement that (ventilation) is a major issue (and to) quickly convene an inter-agency task force.

“Issue guidelines à la Singapore and promote this to avoid work, school clusters, etc. But it has to be done urgently. Already too many months have passed,” Adeeba (above) said on Twitter.

Following evidence that Covid-19 is transmitted through the air, governments worldwide have started issuing guidelines on how to better ventilate indoor spaces.

Singapore’s ventilation guideline, issued by its Health Ministry on Tuesday, includes maximising fresh air intake and reducing recirculation of air in indoor and air-conditioned spaces.

Enclosed air-conditioned spaces without mechanical ventilation provisions, including retail shops and clinics, are to open windows frequently and consider installing window-mounted fan systems, the guideline said.

Naturally ventilated spaces like markets and non-air-conditioned coffee shops should keep windows open and install outward-facing fans at windows to increase ventilation, among others.

Malaysia’s ventilation guideline not yet in the works

The focus on ventilation is a step away from the sanitation practices earlier in the pandemic, which included expensive exercises like spraying disinfectants on surfaces of roads and walkways, dubbed by critics as "hygiene theatre".

Last month, the United States’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the principal mode of Covid-19 transmission is exposure to respiratory droplets in the air, while the risk of contracting Covid-19 through touching a surface is low.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said airborne transmission of Covid-19 involves droplets that remain in the air for long periods of time and can be transmitted to others over distances greater than one metre.

The WHO has, since July last year, called for better ventilation for indoor spaces to curb Covid-19 transmission.

However, a response by the Prime Minister’s Special Adviser on Public Health, Dr Jemilah Mahood, to Adeeba yesterday, indicates that a Malaysian guideline on ventilation is not yet in the works.

Replying to the tweet, Jemilah said it would be faster if public health and building environment experts can get together to draft the guideline, instead of waiting for an inter-agency task force.

“Persatuan Arkitek Malaysia can help, too. Will try to get a copy of Singapore guidelines today,” she replied.

No focus on ventilation in Miti's Safe@Work SOPs

The International Trade of Industry Ministry’s Safe@Work standard operating procedures (SOP) does not have a detailed guideline on ventilation at enclosed workplaces but directs employers to Annex 25 of the Health Ministry's Covid-19 management guidelines for the workplace.

In terms of ventilation, Annex 25 only states that those organising indoor events and meetings should “consider opening windows for natural lighting and better ventilation”.

Annex 25, which was last updated on Feb 15, also encourages meetings to be held in the open air.

The Safe@Work standard operating procedures also require sanitation and disinfection of surfaces in common areas at least three times a day, and for workspaces to be sanitised before each shift.

Yesterday, Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the upward trend of cases involving workplace clusters is not abating, despite movement control order restrictions imposed.

This includes the Safe@Work measures and a restriction of only 60 percent of employees working on-site in the private sector.

"Between May 12 and 26, 115 workplace clusters with 5,392 cases have been reported, with half of the clusters involving factories," Noor Hisham said. - Mkini