Several COVID-19 variants have popped up across the globe and are causing panic among health officials. These mutations are alleged to transmit more easily than previous mutations and are expected to place extra pressure on an already flimsy healthcare system.

COVID-19 continues to be spread by shared indoor air. Infected aerosols are generated by a person who is sick through talking, laughing, sneezing, coughing, and breathing. They are spewed from the person’s mouth and float through the air until they fall to the surface or infect someone. This happens every time an infected person does one of the above activities. A more contagious variation of this virus is especially dangerous in areas without proper social distancing and no mask requirements.

HVAC Upgrades Help With COVID-19 Variants

In fact, several Canadian health officials and engineers are urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to implement several HVAC requirements including the ventilation systems of buildings and to refocus their efforts on shared indoor air as opposed to hygiene. The country is currently dealing with its own highly contagious variant.

“The country, as a whole, and each province is not doing enough to acknowledge aerosol transmission of COVID-19 and promoting the appropriate measures to combat it, such as ventilation and informing people about the risks of being in indoor spaces with multiple people,” said Jennifer McDonald, a rehabilitation physician in Ottawa and one of the authors of the letter. Instead, she said, “we are continuing to focus on hand hygiene and two metres of distancing.”

The primary benefit of implementing these various upgrades is that they are an effective tool against the airborne viruses and the mutations that each airborne virus will undoubtedly go through. HVAC upgrades work by destroying the structure and affecting the environment of the virus.

What is the AprilAire Healthy Air System^®?

Fortunately, there is a way to protect your home too – the AprilAire Healthy Air System^®. This award-winning suite of whole-home Indoor Air Quality solutions is an effective tool against airborne viruses. By leveraging the power of humidity control, fresh air ventilation, and air filtration, you can help reduce the transmission rate of airborne viruses like COVID-19.

Humidity control allows you to keep your home in the Healthy Humidity range of 40-60 percent. This is the optimal range where viruses remain less viable and your body’s natural defenses are most viable. Viruses in this range tend to fall to the ground quickly and do not stay airborne where they can recirculate in the air, which is the primary route of infection for this disease.

Fresh air ventilation dilutes the home of particles and germs and fills your home with fresh, breathable air while maintaining airflow. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information of the National Institute of Health, ventilation is an important tool in reducing airborne pollutants in indoor air, which is up to five times more polluted than the air outside.

Air filtration captures particles that flow through the home and the filter. By keeping the aerosols larger, the filter is more effective at capturing these particles. An AprilAire MERV 16 filter captures 98% of airborne viruses passing through the filter system.

To get the AprilAire Healthy Air System^® installed in your house so you and your family can breathe easier with effective virus protection, contact a local Healthy Air Pro.

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