can we sound a death knell for open office layouts now
Dena Grayson, MD, PhD
 @DrDenaGrayson
24 Apr 2020
🚨Study of #COVID19 cases in #SouthKorea: 94 of 216 people working on the 11th floor of a call center were infected with #coronavirus, translating to an attack rate of 43.5(!). Note that most of those infected (🔵) sat on the same side of the floor. wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26…
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I wonder though: what difference does it make whether it’s an open office plan or not if the entire floor shares an A/C system and everyone touches the same printer, coffee maker, water dispenser?
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For this virus, it seems like it's a pretty big difference (see figure).
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Yeah for sure this study seems to suggest it. I do wonder how much A/C ventilation has an effect though. See eg wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26… But perhaps walls and ducts change the dynamic significantly. Very curious to see more data on this.
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Replying to @philikon @triketora
Both of those studies seem to point in the direction that airflow matters more and previously-contaminated surfaces matter less.

Apr 27, 2020 · 5:43 AM UTC

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