Covid: How opening your window this winter could help to contain spread of virus
Fresh air is vital in the bid to contain the spread of Covid-19.
That’s the central message in a new campaign launched by the Department for Health, which highlights the importance of ventilation in homes.
Coronavirus is spread through the air by droplets and smaller particles known as aerosols when they are exhaled from the nose and mouth of an infected person as they breathe, speak or cough.
They move in a similar way to smoke but are invisible, and the majority of virus transmissions happen inside.
Indoors, the particles can be suspended in the air for hours and build up over time, and the longer people spend in the same room as these particles, the more likely they are to become infected.
With winter approaching and people spending more time at home, experts have recommended opening windows for around 15 minutes at a time, regularly throughout the day, or leaving them open a small amount continuously.
The campaign, launched on Wednesday, also advises using kitchen and bathroom extractor fans as another method to remove infected particles from the home.