Air, surface, and wastewater surveillance of SARS-CoV-2; a multimodal evaluation of COVID-19 detection in a built environment.

Background: Environmental surveillance of infectious organisms holds tremendous promise to reduce human-to-human transmission in indoor spaces through early detection.

Objective: In this study we determined the applicability and limitations of wastewater, indoor high-touch surfaces, in-room air, and rooftop exhaust air sampling methods for detecting SARS-CoV-2 in a real world building occupied by residents recently diagnosed with COVID-19.

Methods: We concurrently examined the results of three 24-hour environmental surveillance techniques, indoor surface sampling, exhaust air sampling and wastewater surveillance, to the known daily census fluctuations in a COVID-19 isolation dormitory.

Longitudinal analysis of built environment and aerosol contamination associated with isolated COVID-19 positive individuals.

The indoor environment is the primary location for the transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), largely driven by respiratory particle accumulation in the air and increased connectivity between the individuals occupying indoor spaces. In this study, we aimed to track a cohort of subjects as they occupied a COVID-19 isolation dormitory to better understand the impact of subject and environmental viral load over time, symptoms, and room ventilation on the detectable viral load within a single room. We find that subject samples demonstrate a decrease in overall viral load over time, symptoms significantly impact environmental viral load, and we provide the first real-world evidence for decreased aerosol SARS-CoV-2 load with increasing ventilation, both from mechanical and window sources.

Quantifying Environmental Mitigation of Aerosol Viral Load in a Controlled Chamber With Participants Diagnosed With Coronavirus Disease 2019.

Background: Several studies indicate that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is primarily transmitted within indoor spaces. Therefore, environmental characterization of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 viral load with respect to human activity, building parameters, and environmental mitigation strategies is critical to combat disease transmission.

Methods: We recruited 11 participants diagnosed with COVID-19 to individually occupy a controlled chamber and conduct specified physical activities under a range of environmental conditions; we collected human and environmental samples over a period of 3 days for each participant.