The IMMUNE Building Standardhas been developed as a set of measures, technical solutions, and facility management practices to certify how built environments can withstand present and future health challenges and minimize the impact of a pandemic such as COVID-19 and other bacteriological or toxicological threats.
As the nation moves to restart the economy and in-person education, we must seriously consider and adopt effective engineering controls in public buildings in order to protect the health of employees and occupants.
“Protecting our voters and poll workers from increasing the spread of COVID-19 at polling places is essential to protecting the health, welfare and safety of the entire population,” said Dennis Knight, vice chair, ASHRAE Epidemic Task Force.
The COVID-19 pandemic has required health care institutions to take extraordinary steps to protect the safety of patients and staff, including significant adjustments to their operations and care models that prioritize infection control and containment. Facility capital planning has been impacted by decreased revenues. Investment decisions must generate returns against new criteria, including changing requirements for safe patient flow and throughput, patient/caregiver interaction, and logistics protocols and processes.
More than 200 scientists recently published an open letter to major international health agencies, including the World Health Organization (WHO) about the emerging evidence showing the COVID-19 virus may be transmitted by airborne particles.