Given the vast array of non-clinical settings being considered, early work in this area started from logical assumptions about how COVID-19 spreads, how members of the public might have to interact with each other, other available public health measures (e.g., masking), as well as previous infection prevention and control experience in clinical settings.Īs the pandemic has progressed, physical barriers have become fixed features in some environments, whereas their utility in others has been questioned. Initially, very little guidance or evidence was available on how to use barriers to control a respiratory disease outside of clinical healthcare settings. In March 2020, physical barriers or partitions made from glass, plastic, or plexiglass became a key component of the initial public health response to the pandemic and were nearly ubiquitous in public indoor spaces. They will be less valuable in settings with long-duration contacts, particularly in the absence of ventilation. Barriers are most valuable for people who have high frequency but short duration interactions with high-risk contacts. Barriers are not appropriate in all settings they are dictated by occupant activities and interactions.Barriers must be paired with good ventilation, as their actions are complementary. However, by redirecting respiratory emissions away from the breathing zone, other ventilation and air cleaning assets are given time to reduce particle concentration. Barriers do not kill or substantially remove the virus from the air. ![]() They are intended to prevent the rapid bi-directional exchange of respiratory particles that occurs when two people interact in close proximity. Physical barriers serve a specific, but limited, purpose.However, challenges in creating clear guidance around barrier design and implementation, and in studying the effect of barriers in the real world, make it difficult to assess their effectiveness. Epidemiological and experimental evidence suggests that physical barriers may decrease transmission risk.
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