How not to get coronavirus in the elevator: CDC recommendations

The elevator has long been a familiar part of our lives, but staying in a confined space with a sick coronavirus is fraught with infection. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) intends to publish recommendations to reduce the risk of infection in the elevator. This publication writes "Vesti".

Photo: Shutterstock

Coronavirus is transmitted with droplets of saliva and mucus, which spread in the air up to 1,6 m. When droplets get in the nose, nasopharynx and, possibly, in the eyes, the viruses contained in them penetrate the cells and begin to multiply. You can get infected from asymptomatic carriers of coronavirus through physical contact and even during conversation.

Richard Corsi, Dean of the Department of Engineering and Computer Science at Portland State University, has developed a mathematical model of how an infected person infects an elevator car during an ascent to 10 floors. It was also determined the time during which the elevator remains contagious after its release. He published the results of the calculations on his Twitter page.

“The hypothetical scenario,” Corsi wrote, “is that the virus will remain in the air of the elevator car after the patient exits.”

The model considered several possible options for the speed of the elevator, the operation of ventilation systems and the time of closing the doors, as well as the trajectory of the virus when coughing or talking on the phone.

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Corsi proceeded from the fact that with a single cough a person emits from thousands to hundreds of thousands of viral particles, and when talking on the phone, such an amount is emitted per second. Then these particles are mixed with external air when the doors open and the patient comes out. When another person enters the elevator, he is in contact with 25% of the viral particles that the carrier traveling to him threw into the air.

CDC intends to issue official recommendations on the safe use of the elevator during the coronavirus pandemic.

Rules for the safe use of the elevator during the coronavirus epidemic:

• enter the elevator in a mask;
• limit the number of passengers in the cabin (no more than 1 person);
• place the marking of the directions of entry into the elevator and exit from it on the floor of the cabin;
• keep quiet while riding in the elevator;
• disinfect hands after touching the buttons.

The rules for leaving their house, it is recommended, if possible:

• Do not use the elevator, but walk along the stairs;
• disinfect hands after touching the elevator or ATM buttons, railings, door handles and other surfaces that the virus carrier could touch;
• It is recommended to avoid not only handshakes, but also the contact of the elbows when greeting friends.

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