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Carbon dioxide concentration isn't just a proxy for covid risk in a given location: higher levels of CO2 increase the risk of covid infection.
The explanation is that adding CO2 to the room air makes it more acidic, and the covid virus survives longer in more acidic air.
When I mentioned this on a Discord server, someone else noted that carbon dioxide concentration is not always a useful proxy for covid risk. In particular, the air on commercial airline flights is recirculated and well-filtered. The filtration removes airborne viruses, but not carbon dioxide. This doesn't change my analysis, that if I need to unmask briefly to do something like take a pill, the safest time is during the flight, not in the airport or on the tarmac.
(via Ruth Anne Crystal's "covid news and more" newsletter.)
The explanation is that adding CO2 to the room air makes it more acidic, and the covid virus survives longer in more acidic air.
When I mentioned this on a Discord server, someone else noted that carbon dioxide concentration is not always a useful proxy for covid risk. In particular, the air on commercial airline flights is recirculated and well-filtered. The filtration removes airborne viruses, but not carbon dioxide. This doesn't change my analysis, that if I need to unmask briefly to do something like take a pill, the safest time is during the flight, not in the airport or on the tarmac.
(via Ruth Anne Crystal's "covid news and more" newsletter.)
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