The extent of the risk of infection with corona virus is currently still evident in nursing and retirement homes that are particularly in need of protection. Only a few days after the general lifting of the ban on visiting nursing homes, 31 people in a Düsseldorf nursing home are now infected with the corona virus. In another senior citizens’ home in Langerwehe (Düren district), 33 residents and 19 employees have tested positive for the virus in recent weeks. Other cities are currently testing the residents of their homes across the board, as random tests also revealed symptom-free infections in the beginning. Renewed bans on visits have been imposed, and there are now also stricter hygiene rules and protective measures for the nursing staff.
Numerous new infections after the relaxing of lock-down regulations make the need for action clear
This new corona outbreak with many cases of infection clearly shows that the hygiene and protective measures that have been considered safe up to now do not provide full protection for residents in such homes, who are generally considered to be at risk. Experts and epidemiologists agree that the declining infection figures of the last few weeks are mainly due to contact restrictions imposed by the authorities. If these restrictions are removed, as the federal state of Thuringia, for example, is currently planning to do, sooner or later the number of infections will rise again. The new corona outbreaks in the meat industry, in mail distribution and parcel centres, in a restaurant in Lower Saxony or during a church service in the Frankfurt area are caused by so-called aerosols (tiny saliva particles), which are mainly emitted into the room when breathing, but also when speaking or singing.
Maximum protection against infection means more than just “good ventilation”
In order to make it possible for relatives to consistently visit the home again and to protect the home residents from breathing in dangerous indoor air, effective measures for protection against infection are needed – including protection against airborne viruses. Elderly residents cannot be expected to wear a mask with a particle filter of course. In addition, daily care requires intensive contact with the nursing staff, so that even social distancing rules are impossible to implement.
With the mobile air purifier TAC V+, nursing homes supplement their hygiene measures with effective protection against airborne viruses – before they are inhaled.
When breathing, we not only emit large, visible droplets into the room in a kind of “drizzle”, but also, and to a much greater extent, tiny aerosols. While the large droplets sink to the ground after only about 1.5 metres due to their weight (which gives rise to the distancing rule of 1.5 metres), infectious aerosols, which are only a thousandth of a millimetre in size, actually remain in the air “for several hours”.
If one looks at the percentage distribution of possible infection paths, it becomes obvious that social distancing, hand washing and spit protection walls alone do not provide comprehensive protection against infection with the coronavirus.
The following diagram reveals the gap in infection protection
Almost all recommended measures protect against smear infection or infectious droplets. But practicable recommendations for protection against the inhalation of infectious aerosols in closed rooms, which bring the virus into the body via the respiratory tract, are not found in any of the numerous safety and hygiene measures. Effective protection against this path of infection does exist.
Virus-free visiting zones to maintain urgently needed visits
The Federal Government Commissioner for Nursing, Andreas Westerfellhaus, rightly demands that visiting facilities with infection protection must become standard in nursing homes. The protection of those in need of care should not lead to them becoming lonely.
With the mobile TAC V+, the air in such visiting zones is cleaned just as effectively as it is otherwise only cleaned in hygiene-sensitive clean room environments and hospital operating rooms. This is made possible by the elevated air performance of 1,600 m³/hour and a new type of HEPA thermal decontamination. In this way, even large visiting areas can be kept virtually virus- and germ-free on a permanent basis. What may sound rather technical in theory, turns out to be rather uncomplicated in practice. The room air in common areas is sucked in near the floor, freed from bacteria and viruses by the HEPA filter and returned to the room as germ-free clean air. This dilutes spontaneously occurring aerosol clouds at head height directly with very large quantities of clean air in such a way that the viral load and risk of infection are significantly reduced! No installation or complicated connections necessary. Simply plug in and immediately ensure maximum possible protection against infection!
Social distancing, face masks and stricter cleaning and disinfection procedures are all sensible measures in isolation. But they do not offer any protection against infectious aerosols, as these rise like smoke up to several metres into the air and only after hours do they slowly and widely sink to the ground. Even behind supposedly safe spit protection walls during family visits. The risk of residents or employees becoming infected with the corona virus via indoor air even when all safety and hygiene measures are observed is reduced to almost zero by using a TAC V+ air purifier with virus filter!
You can’t ask for more, and you should demand no less for the protection of employees and residents in need of care:
- Compliance with all requirements and hygiene regulations (minimum distance, compulsory masks, virus barrier screens, disinfection measures etc.)
- Air filtration to reduce the risk of aerogenic infection
Interesting facts about the H14-HEPA high performance filter with a transmittance of ≤ 0.005%
With their first-class filter efficiency and innovative performance characteristics, the H14 virus filters developed by Trotec are thoroughly convincing. And with their transmission level of just 0.005% and separation level of 99.995%, they offer 10 times the separation efficiency compared to conventional H13 filters. Thanks to these first-class properties, H14 high-performance filters are even used to produce clean air in operating theatres and in other comparably hygiene-sensitive areas.
All H14 high-performance filters offered by Trotec meet the highest quality standards, which are obligatory for the filtration of bacteria and viruses:
- Each H14 high-performance filter is individually tested and given its own serial number.
- The test report is enclosed with each H14 filter in duplicate as a certificate.
- The original test certificate can be filed away and a copy attached to the air purification device when required.
- H14-HEPA high performance filters are tested according to EN 1822 and EN 60335-2-69.
The TAC V+, available for purchase or rental, was developed and tested in a Heinsberg-based study. The device is available in several colour versions at a price of £3,797.04 in the Trotec Shop.
Questions about use, the dimensions of the device and all technical questions will be answered by the Trotec air cleaning expert Jochem Weingartz:
Trotec GmbH, Mr Jochem Weingartz
Telephone: +49 2452 962-137, jochem.weingartz@trotec.com
