SARS-CoV-2 exposure in hospitals and how to control the risks for workers

Healthcare workers are at high risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2 during the current pandemic and are generally at higher risk of infection by respiratory pathogens in general. They may be infected by hand-to-mouth or mucous membrane contacts, direct droplet spatter from coughs and sneezes and inhalation of fine droplets of lung fluids. However, there is little evidence about the concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 virus in the air or on surfaces in hospitals and other healthcare settings, which makes it difficult to judge the relative importance of these routes and hence the best way to effectively protect healthcare workers. This research involves collecting air and surface contamination data from hospitals along with information about infection risk behaviours of staff, for example touching potentially contaminated surfaces and then touching their face. These data will be used to mathematically model the routes by which virus can infect workers, and this model will then be used to explore the effectiveness of various novel intervention strategies designed to protect workers, such as the treatment of surfaces with nanoparticles to reduce survival of virus, use of localised and room filtration ventilation, use of surgical masks or respirators and other measures.