In developing countries waiting rooms in Doctor’s OPD clinics can be a major source of airborne transmission of infections. Most are small ill-ventilated set of rooms, equipped with 1 or 2 split air-conditioners. Only parameter measured is temperature, no one has any idea of air-changes needed per hour, or amount of outside air, or use of hepa filters.

Then, in these pandemic times, people are flocking to thousands of testing and vaccination centres, some in make-shift structures, many in basements, with even less control on air quality.

OPDs should be classified same as Emergency Rooms – 12 air changes per hour with 2 fresh air changes (Ashrae standard 170)  How to implement these in clinics? Most commonly available split acs do not have provision for fresh air. How to measure air quality – if poor, windows can be opened, exhaust fans switched on, but first, measurement must be made possible easily, cheaply.

There are probably millions of these clinics across the globe. And now with countries opening up, other public gathering places like restaurants will also need to re-visit their air handling systems

I am sure the smart people at great companies like Honeywell already have, (or can come up with) cost effective solutions to address this issue, but we need to create awareness rapidly.