Biocontainment

Mechanical System Solutions to Help Mitigate Spread of COVID

Most Important Action: Maintain Good Indoor Air Quality

Published 7-8-2020

Communities, corporations, and educational institutions are drafting plans to reopen during the COVID-19 pandemic, employing policies around personal protective equipment; keeping a 6-foot distance from co-workers, peers, and clients; and reconfiguring their physical spaces. Another potential mitigation strategy is to adjust a facility’s mechanical system to better protect the occupants, though that should not be considered the primary solution, cautions Michael Walsh, PE, LEED AP, senior mechanical engineer and principal at R.G. Vanderweil Engineers, LLP. “There’s no silver bullet,” he says.