Central air conditioning could raise risks of coronavirus infection

A recent study of COVID-19 infections from families who visited a restaurant with a central air conditioning system has suggested that coronavirus can spread within centrally air-conditioned spaces.

One family came to a restaurant in Guangzhou from Wuhan, the initial hotspot of COVID-19 in China and one of them was carrying the virus unknowingly.

Days later, nine others who dined at the restaurant started showing symptoms of coronavirus. The virus travelled through the air conditioner duct at the restaurant and infected three families sitting in the vicinity of each other who never engaged with the other.

According to the expert, the humidity of a building may also affect the spread of infections like COVID-19.

Considering the potential use of air filtration systems, the experts found the majority of viruses, including coronavirus, are too small to capture bugs like SARS-CoV-2 and "no filter system is perfect."

According to experts, the use of Window ACs does not pose any additional risk of coronavirus infection, especially at a time when people are isolated inside their homes with no outside contact.