Air purifiers may actually be doing more harm than good during the pandemic – as a new study shows they can help spread COVID-19 droplets in confined spaces.
Researchers at the University of Nicosia in Cyprus conducted the “Physics of Fluids” study, which was published on Tuesday to show what would happen if a person coughed in a crowded elevator.
“The air purifier reduces the dispersion of the drops, but does not eliminate it. The integrated air intake inside the purifying equipment induces a flow circulation that can contribute to the transport of contaminated saliva droplets in the cabin ”, wrote the authors Talib Dbouka and Dimitris Drikakis.
“The results of the present study are relevant to any confined space, including small rooms in residential or commercial installations, parking lots, stores, as well as an aircraft cabin, submarines and spaceships,” added the scientists.
They also suggested, “future ventilation and purification systems should aim to reduce AVT [airborne virus transmission] by minimizing droplet dispersion. “