Tanvir Khan, PhD, Post-Doctoral Researcher, FSEC Energy Research Center, UCF, talks about cutting COVID risks at home.
Tell me what’s your role in this research.
KHAN: I’m one of the co-investigators in this project, along with Charles Withers and Eric Martin. And my role was to test these different strategies for effective containment in an isolation in space, so primarily using fine particulate matter and monitoring air quality in different zones in the house and also using those data to test the effectiveness of isolations on containment.
What was the need? What was the purpose? What was the reasoning for coming up with this research? What’s the need it’s trying to address?
KHAN: So, since the pandemic started, there has been a need for some simple measures that people can take to isolate an infected person in their homes before some major steps need to be taken, such as taking people into hospitals and also to protect people in the house who are not infected. So, the idea was to test some simple and effective measures that most of the people can take to create an isolation space where an infected person can be situated and remain there while other people have confidence that they’re not getting infected from that person.
And what type of strategies did you guys find most effective?
KHAN: So, we found that using a bathroom exhaust fan, which should be in the isolation space, for example in a bathroom, in a master bedroom, a bathroom attached to a master bedroom, and also if the flows in the exhaust fans are not adequate, then people can also use a portable window fan that could pull air from the isolation space to outside. So, either of these strategies can be effective. If not, people can use both. For example, people can keep their bathroom exhaust fan running and at the same time they can use the portable window fan to ensure that adequate containment and pressure target has been achieved in the isolation space.
And how long can this last?
KHAN: We recommend this method of containment should not last more than a month. Between three to four weeks is our recommended time frame for using this method.
And I know Eric talked a little bit about the cost effectiveness of it, but why is it so important for dealing with everyday people? Since COVID affects pretty much almost everybody, why is having such a low cost or finding strategies that cost no money so important?
KHAN: It’s mainly because of convenience and, I mean, the approach is that, as engineers, we try to provide solutions that are cost effective. That’s the basic principle of an engineering solution. So, we want to make sure that during this pandemic, people are not getting overburdened by any strategies that cost a huge amount of money. So that’s why our approach from the get go was to use existing methods such as the bathroom exhaust vent, which you typically find in single family homes, or if there is no bathroom exhaust fan or if it is not delivering enough air, then you could purchase a low cost window from market and use that as an alternative.
And how much do those usually cost?
KHAN: The one we used in our project cost about 20 or 30 dollars, and you can find anything between 30 to 50 dollars.
What can your research that you’re doing mean in the fight against COVID?
KHAN: I would say this is the first line of defense. I mean, obviously people are encouraged or many to follow the CDC guidelines or the other guidelines that are in place from health officials. But this is the first line of defense in a sense that when a person is sick or if you don’t know whether they have COVID or not, they might have some symptoms or you suspect that someone in your family might be infected, not just COVID, it can be an infectious disease. So even before you get tested, just to ensure that other people are safe, anyone can apply these methods to ensure that first line of defense is set and then it can take additional precautions or measures as needed.
If somebody had a contact with somebody who tested positive for COVID, do you think that would be maybe something worth considering, isolating them in a room like that? Or I guess going to get a test? Because right away you might not test positive if you go take a test.
KHAN: Right. I mean if the person is aware that they have been in touch with someone with a positive case or positive virus, I mean, a COVID case, then it is best they can start using this approach until they get tested and the test results come back.
What did you find most surprising with the research?
KHAN: I would say one of the things we found is this low-cost effectiveness of this containment because portable window fan is only 30 dollars, but it provided a very high containment in the isolation space, so it is somewhat surprising, but in a way that we are happy that this is found to be working in our favor.
Interview conducted by Ivanhoe Broadcast News.
END OF INTERVIEW
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