Ventilation Systems and COVID-19 Spread: Evidence from a Systematic Review Study

Abstract

The main transmission mechanism of COVID-19 is through close contact, aerosols, droplets, and fomites transmission of the disease in closed spaces. In this study, the importance of ventilation in preventing the expansion of COVID-19 is reviewed. In total, 20 articles are reviewed. The obtained results show that ventilation has a crucial role in preventing COVID-19 expansion in indoor air environments. However, it should be used properly; otherwise, it will cause further expansion of the disease, as suggested for SARS. Appropriate ventilation can effectively prevent the expansion of COVID-19, and it will be more effective if be combined with particle filtration and air disinfection. The benefit of ventilation in highly polluted outdoor air conditions is an important field to be investigated in future studies. Finally, the results show that the six basic COVID-19 control strategies include: hand hygiene, social distancing, screening and case finding, isolation and separating, decontamination and disinfection, and effective ventilation. We hope that the results of the present study help researchers and health decision-makers in designing programs further perceive the importance of factors related to indoor conditions to control COVID-19 expansion.