Integrated approach to managing COVID-19 infection risk in ventilated spaces

Sammanfattning: During and after the appearance of the last global pandemic, many ways ofinfection-risk-reducing procedures started developing. This report can be considered as one ofthe procedures in a long and complicated road of fi nding the best possible solution in pandemictimes, in offi ce spaces. In order to achieve that, the quickest and the safest method was thechoice to simulate different scenarios using computer calculators designed for this purpose.Literature study is also included. Main infection-risk-reducing measures used in this researchare mechanical ventilation, portable room air cleaners, in-duct UV lights, protective masks andtheir combinations. Results showed a trend that was initially expected. As the number ofmeasures put into combinations increased, the number of risks of infection decreased. Onlywhen protective masks were put in the scenarios, risk of infection experienced a drop below thechosen threshold value. Blocking the virus spread at its very source can have a big impact,almost always showing the probability p-value below 0.05 (5%), not requiring energy (and cost)consumption. Alternative scenarios that do not include masks are also calculated and providedas options. All scenarios are sorted later in the tables by their order-of-magnitude. Outcome ofthe research should increase awareness of the impact of all these measures, used all together,or in different combinations. Due to still limited literature in this fi eld regarding certainparameters, it is not yet suggestable to use only this research as a solution during pandemic.