Can Air Conditioning Spread the Coronavirus?

Experts are worried that air conditioning will spread the coronavirus in public places.

According to new research, air conditioning may circulate infectious droplets containing SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the novel coronavirus.

A newly published study found in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, reveals that several people in a restaurant in Wuhan, China contracted COVID-19 just by sitting near an air-conditioning vent, where the coronavirus was first discovered.

"Air conditioning works to keep spaces cool by removing humidity from the air, as water vapor can hold onto heat," Lednicky explains. "But moisture also works to weigh down viral droplets and particles as they float through the air. If water vapor is removed to cool the air, which is what happens when you run air conditioning, it mayalsoenable infectious droplets to linger longer than they would outside or in another space where humidity is higher."

This study has now sparked arguments between experts about the role of summer's heat on how viral SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

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