CO2 And Covid
The ventilation in many public toilets is poor anyway and obviously the ventilation in the enclosed area of a toilet cubicle can be very poor. Person A, with asymptomatic covid, uses the toilet and flushes. A plume of faecal aerosols is created which lingers in the cubicle. Ten minutes later, Person B, you perhaps, enters the cubicle, sits down for five minutes, inhales the plume of covid-containing faecal aerosols and five days later develops symptoms of covid.
Knowing the CO₂ level is one thing. But then you need to do something about it.First, let outside air in, wherever possible. Open windows, doors and get a draught flowing through. A standalone fan really helps.You can see the dramatic effect on air quality which that simple intervention had in a pharmacy. And here you can see just how quickly switching OFF recirculate in a car improves the CO₂ level: In the car.
COVID-19 is transmitted largely by the airborne route on tiny particles called aerosols, not by contact or much larger droplets as originally thought.
This means it can linger in room air for hours and can travel under doors, along corridors, and occasionally even through ventilation shafts. Think cigarette smoke.
Even though atmospheric CO₂ has gone up a lot in recent times, room CO₂ levels should ideally be below 600ppm. That level indicates a well-ventilated space.
Below 800ppm is acceptable in some circumstances. CO₂ levels above 1000ppm should be strongly avoided.