DOH issues guidelines on

enclosed spaces during

pandemic
By: Jovic Yee - Reporter / @jovicyeeINQ
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 04:50 AM October 13, 2020

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) issued new

guidelines on Monday on good ventilation and proper air circulation in
enclosed spaces, amid the continuing threat of the coronavirus pandemic.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that with the updated
guidelines, the public can put in place administrative and engineering
controls that would minimize the risk of one being infected should
experts definitively determine that the new coronavirus can be
transmitted through the air.
“While there is yet conclusive evidence of airborne transmission, [the]
DOH is already recommending that we make sure that there is proper
ventilation in enclosed spaces, like workplaces, restrooms and vehicles,”
Vergeire said.
Under Department Memorandum No. 2020-0429, signed by Health
Secretary Francisco Duque III on Thursday last week, activities are
recommended to be held in open-air spaces. If this cannot be done,
“opening windows and doors should be put into practice to facilitate the
flow of outdoor air into space.”
Vergeire said the public should avoid sitting directly in the air flow
coming from electric fans and air conditioners, especially in hot weather.
Exhaust fans, car vents
“Electric fans and air-conditioning units may facilitate transmission of
the virus if it directs air from infected individuals to others in the room,”
the memorandum read.
For public restrooms, Vergeire said exhaust fans should be installed and
kept open continuously as much as possible.
Cars, particularly those used for public transport, should “avoid using the
recirculated air option.”
“Utilize the car’s vents to bring in fresh outside air and/or lower the
vehicle windows,” the DOH said.
‘Special circumstances’
Vergeire said that the guidelines may be adjusted depending on the needs
of the area, and in consultation with heating and ventilation experts.
The DOH guidelines came a week after the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) of the United States said airborne transmission of
the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, “can occur under special
circumstances.”
These include enclosed spaces where an infected person has been or
where susceptible people have gone after the infected person has left and
areas with inadequate ventilation that allow a buildup of suspended
small respiratory droplets and particles.
Still, the CDC said that based on available data, the new coronavirus is
mainly transmitted through respiratory droplets since if it were
primarily airborne, “experts would expect to have observed considerably
more rapid global spread of infection in early 2020 and higher
percentages of prior infection measured by serosurveys.”