In the coronavirus pandemic, can I safely send my children to the office or to the classroom at school?
Researchers are now developing a calculator for the risk of Covid-19 infection - with several hooks.
Coronavirus pandemic in Germany
: Researchers from Mainz are developing a calculator for the
Covid-19
risk
.
The risk of
corona
infections
in
offices
and
classrooms
should be measured in this way.
But there are apparently several catches with the method.
Munich / Mainz - Experts explain it again and again: The
risk of infection
with the insidious
coronavirus is
significantly higher
in closed rooms
than in the fresh air.
So far, so understandable for the layman.
Contagion with the coronavirus: calculator calculates alleged Covid-19 risk
But it is as risky for now, if I - with
Corona
-Schutzmaßnahmen
like
face masks
- to work in the
office
go?
And the likelihood of contagion for my children when they were in
school
in the classroom in the
classroom
to sit?
Researchers from Mainz now want to be able to calculate the likelihood of contamination indoors - with a specially developed
calculator
(link to the calculator of the Max Planch Institute for Chemistry in Mainz).
This is reported by the knowledge magazine
Scinexx
.
According to this, criteria are fed into the calculator under various items, such as indicators for volume when speaking, the nature of the respective face masks and the height and basic dimensions of the respective room.
Corona risk calculator | criteria |
Characteristics of the infected person | Volume when speaking, proportion of speech, condition of the face mask, etc. |
Spatial properties | Air exchange rate, burst ventilation per hour, altitude, etc. |
Event details | Duration, participants, mask filter efficiency |
Aerosol properties | For example, particle emissions when breathing |
Virus properties | for example, the survival time of virus microparticles in the air |
As for the scenarios, you can choose from four different occasions or rooms:
the classroom, the office, a celebration or a choir rehearsal.
Coronavirus contagion: hook - was a corona infected person in the room or not?
But: The information is based on estimates.
And: As the researchers explain, the
aerosol properties
and the properties of the
coronavirus
can only be quantified and named by experts.
There is another catch: the calculators have to know whether one or more
infected people were
in the room.
It is well known that in many cases this is not even found out.
So it remains to be asked whether the
corona calculator will
also be used across the
board
in practice.
Obviously, you have to be a pretty good ace in science anyway.
(pm)