As the world continues to grapple with a worsening indoor air quality crisis, Rentokil Initial last month announced it will bring Radic8’s VIRUSKILLER air purifier to Australia and New Zealand.
The product is proven to kill 99.99 per cent of Coronavirus in the air (when independently tested against Coronavirus DF2, a surrogate for Coronavirus, on a single air pass).
The COVID19 Delta strain – largely characterised by aerosol transmission – has only accelerated this crisis. With Australians spending 90 per cent of their time indoors, adopting strategies to improve air quality within low ventilation areas is crucial in making these spaces safer, according to Rentokil Initial national technical and innovation manager, John Keogh.
Despite acknowledgement by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that SARS-CoV-2 is an airborne virus, most Australian businesses have no formal air hygiene practices in place or guidelines to follow.
“We are facing the worst indoor air quality crisis in history. It has never been clearer that businesses need to take action to protect their customers, employees, and bottom-line against the well-documented risks of poor indoor air quality,” he said.
“Typical air purifiers are not effective against ‘sick air’, including viruses, bacteria and mould, which is increasingly threatening physical and mental acuity.”
“VIRUSKILLER will help local businesses protect against health risks in poorly ventilated indoor spaces, including those posed by airborne pathogens. This first-of-its-kind product which with its patented technology to purify and decontaminate the air, is unparalleled in efficacy against airborne viruses, including COVID-19,” Keogh said.
Dean of Science at University of Technology Sydney, Professor Bruce Milthorpe, said when COVID-19 was first identified in Australia, in early 2020, lockdowns were effective.
He said early variants of COVID19 were largely transmitted by contact and droplet transmission, but the Delta strain has outstripped the current lockdown.
Milthorpe said research shows that aerosol transmission in places of low ventilation, such as hotels, aged care facilities, and medical practices, is the likely cause of current transmission.
“This is because poor ventilation means aerosols remain for a long time after the person has left,” he said.