Prevent the covid megaclaster

Read all articles about coronavirus (COVID-19) here.

It has been 7 months since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic. Since then, hundreds of studies have been conducted, but much remains unknown. One person can be superspreader and produce a megaklaster of COVID-19 transmission while one other person may not transmit at all.

What causes one cluster to be able to transmit more cases than other clusters? What is the risk of airborne transmission of COVID-19? The following is the review.

Megaclaster and the problem of COVID-19 transmission from superspreader

In the case of COVID-19 transmission, it is easy to imagine that people with COVID-19 have an equal chance of transmitting the virus to other people. In fact, the pandemic sweeping the world has another pattern of transmission. Experts have observed that a small percentage of cases are the source of the majority of transmission.

This condition is known as the Pareto theory or better known as the 80/20 rule, meaning that 80 percent of the spread that arises comes from 20 percent of cases on average. While the rest, are only responsible for a small proportion of cases of transmission, in fact it may not be contagious at all.

Many studies estimate that the majority of people who test positive for COVID-19 may not infect a single person.

A scientific report reports that Hong Kong's extensive testing and contact tracing found 19 percent of cases were responsible for 80 percent of infections, while 69 percent of cases did not transmit to any single person.

Hence the term superspreader that is, a disproportionate number of people who could become centers of transmission. It is more generally interpreted as the individual responsible for transmitting COVID-19 to a large number of other people.

However superspreader does not just happen because of that individual factor, because basically everyone can become superspreader . Time, condition, and location are the biggest factors in the large transmission of COVID-19.

There are three main factors that can cause large clusters of COVID-19 transmission, namely closed rooms (closed spaces), crowded place (crowded), and close contact (closed-contact setting). Avoiding this 3C condition is one of the keys to preventing events superspreding .

This condition is not the fault of the individual as superspreader. Therefore, experts prefer to call it an event superspreading COVID-19 (major contagion event).

Event superspreading COVID-19 was first reported in South Korea's Daegu. From one patient dubbed patient 31, more than 5,000 cases were identified as church clusters. The large cluster occurs because the congregation gathers in a closed room, close together, and sing.

Example events superspreading another when 52 people infected with COVID-19 occurred at a choir event in the United States (US).

COVID-19 Outbreak updates Country: IndonesiaData

1,024,298

Confirmed

831,330

Recovered

28,855

DeathDistribution Map

The importance of avoiding events superspreding

Hitoshi Oshitani, a member of the Japanese Ministry of Health's COVID-19 task force said they are pursuing a strategy to focus on clusters of transmission rather than individuals. They stressed the need tracing and testing the right place to find events superspreading .

Studies that review megaclaster questions or events superspreading this can help understand how the virus is more contagious in crowded, confined spaces, and close proximity. Such as in offices, schools, places of worship, and public transportation.

In addition, the theory of prevention is to prohibit mass public events where tens or hundreds of people can infect themselves. Another prevention, of course, is to continue to apply the habit of wearing masks, washing hands, and maintaining distance.

Closed rooms, air vents, and crowded places

Ventilation or air circulation in buildings must be a concern because they can be a factor in the megaclaster of transmission.

Jose-Luiz Jimenez, professor of air quality Colorado University said, air conditioning can increase the likelihood of spreading infection in the room making it vulnerable to clusters of transmission in offices.

Many offices are still operating and claim to keep their offices clean by preparing several bottles hand sanitizer . It can be in vain if you don't pay attention to air circulation by making a vent or air filter, for example a HEPA filter.

"People are increasingly susceptible to airborne transmission of COVID-19 in confined spaces," said Edward Nardell, a professor at Harvard Medical School.

Nardell said that when the office is occupied by five people, with a closed room without windows and the air conditioner is turned on, the level of carbon dioxide (CO2) rises sharply. This is a sign that the occupants are breathing air from each other's breath in the room. This is the reason why closed spaces with inadequate ventilation are prone to creating megaclasts of COVID-19 transmission.