How Buildings can Make a Pandemic Worse

Leslie Dietz, Patrick F. Horve, David A. Coil, Mark Fretz, Jonathan A. Eisen, Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg: “2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic: Built Environment Considerations To Reduce Transmission”, mSystems (2020)

Like most people, I’ve been holed up and socially isolating during this pandemic. While doing so, I have been thinking a bit about building design and how most people live, commute, and work in environments that seem designed to maximize the spread of disease. The Legionnaires’ outbreak back in 1976 should have served as a wake-up call about pathologically bad building design. Of course, Legionella bacteria are both substantially larger and thanks to antibiotics, infections are easier to treat, than a virus.

Coincidentally, UC Davis, my alma mater, has been making an effort to keep the media informed about the latest published research about coronavirus (AKA COVID-19, AKA SARS-CoV-2) and posted a note about a literature review that was just published in the American Society for Microbiology journal mSystems. 

Abstract

With the rapid spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that results in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), corporate enti- ties, federal, state, county, and city governments, universities, school districts, places of worship, prisons, health care facilities, assisted living organizations, daycares, homeowners, and other building owners and occupants have an opportunity to re- duce the potential for transmission through built environment (BE)-mediated path- ways. Over the last decade, substantial research into the presence, abundance, diver- sity, function, and transmission of microbes in the BE has taken place and revealed common pathogen exchange pathways and mechanisms. In this paper, we synthesize this microbiology of the BE research and the known information about SARS- CoV-2 to provide actionable and achievable guidance to BE decision makers, build- ing operators, and all indoor occupants attempting to minimize infectious disease transmission through environmentally mediated pathways. We believe this informa- tion is useful to corporate and public administrators and individuals responsible for building operations and environmental services in their decision-making process about the degree and duration of social-distancing measures during viral epidemics and pandemics.

The paper was release under a Creative Commons Attribution license and may be found here.

The production parts of wineries should have a lower risk of virus transmission than the average office space. Working winery buildings tend to be relatively airy with good ventilation. Winery common areas, break rooms, restrooms, office space, and any public areas like tasting rooms however are like any other work environment.

Link:
https://msystems.asm.org/content/5/2/e00245-20

PDF Link:
https://msystems.asm.org/content/msys/5/2/e00245-20.full.pdf

DOI:
 10.1128/mSystems.00245-20

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