CO2 monitoring

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised concerns about indoor ventilation conditions worldwide. Monitoring CO2 concentrations in rooms has been widely used, but its relationship with outdoor air ventilation rates and ventilation performance is uncertain. Several uncertainties must be quantified, including the location and rate of CO2 sources, sensor locations, and the dynamics of the surroundings, as well as limitations of existing simulation models, such as well-mixing assumptions.

Mass gathering events were closed in 2020 to reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2. These events included music concerts, theatre shows, and sports matches. It is known, however, that the long-range aerosol transmission of pathogens, such as SARS-CoV-2, can be reduced with sufficient ventilation indoors. This paper examines the risk of reopening these mass gathering events by measuring the CO2 concentration, as a proxy for ventilation effectiveness, at 58 events, with a specific focus on small enclosed spaces with short occupancy.

During the corona-19 pandemic waves in 2020 and 2021, many cultural and recreational activities inside buildings could no longer take place to prevent virus transmission. In order to allow cultural and recreational sectors to reopen in a safe way by the summer of 2021, a ventilation task force of the corona commissioner's office of the Belgian federal government prepared recommendations for the practical implementation and monitoring of indoor air quality in the context of COVID-19.