Commercial aviation is experiencing a decline in its operations due to the situation caused by the Covid-19, one of the circumstances that has contributed to the decline in demand for air transport services is the fear of contagion on board an aircraft. The airlines and international organizations that support the reactivation of air operations have proposed various protocols to reduce the risk of contagion. In this context, a strange case arises, a Covid-19 contagion that when tracked down took place on board an aircraft, in an unusual place; the bathroom.
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The risk of contagion in an airplane
First of all, it is necessary to expose the reality regarding the risk of contracting Covid-19 in an airplane. The experts’ opinion, that is, air filter specialists, epidemiologists, ventilation system engineers, etc. is that the risk of contagion is lower than the general population and even governments may believe.
The aircraft cabin is very well ventilated, the robust airflow, mixed with the fresh air from outside the aircraft, decreases the spread of the virus that causes Covid-19, in other words, it is like comparing an enclosed space with little ventilation, with the exteriors with a higher flow of clean air. We must remember that the cabin of an airplane has a system that gradually discards much of the air inside, replacing it with the air outside 10 to 12 times per hour, clean and fresh. The experts indicate that, if the transmission of the virus by air is dangerous, it is then more dangerous to enter an average bank, than to board the cabin of an airplane.
A rare case of Covid-19 infection
A 28-year-old woman, after passing the protocols to board her flight, tested positive for Covid-19. The flight took place between Italy and South Korea. The passengers on the flight were examined and their temperatures were taken before boarding; in fact, eleven of the passengers presented a fever, for which, following the sanitary measure, they were denied access to the plane. The rest of the passengers, once they arrived at their destination, fulfilled their quarantine, and the PCR test was performed to rule out infection on the 1st and 14th of said quarantine.
In the results of the PRC test 6 passengers were positive on day 1; newly arrived in South Korea, on day 8 of the quarantine a 28 year old woman began to present typical symptoms of Covid-19, cough, nasal cold, muscle aches, etc. During the investigations to determine the place where the infection occurred, it was discovered that the woman had used the same toilet used by one of the 6 passengers detected as positive on day 1. The same researchers ruled out the possibility that the infection was produced by the air in the bathroom, given the effectiveness of the air filters used. The experts involved agree that it is most likely that the infected patient left the virus on some surface of the bathroom that the woman later touched. If you want to know alternatives of tourist flights that reinforce even more the security against the Covid-19 we suggest you read Tourist Bubbles: An alternative to face the Covid19.
Importance of personal hygiene care
As is evident in the previous case, in the face of the current Covid-19 crisis, the sanitary measures that are carried out in a personal way are the most important, that is, constant hand washing, avoiding contact with surfaces that are constantly used, carrying and using antibacterial gel, not touching your face until you have properly cleaned your hands.
What do you think about this issue? Do you think that most Covid-19 infections are due to neglect of personal hygiene?
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