Arun District Council are encouraging local residents to follow this advice on ventilation of homes over Christmas to help prevent the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.
The importance of ventilation
- It is important to ventilate your home when you have visitors from outside your household - including family, or if someone in your household has COVID-19
- Letting fresh air into indoor spaces can help remove air that contains virus particles and prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19)
- Ventilation is important if someone in your household has COVID-19 or if you are indoors with people you do not live with. You can pass COVID-19 on to others if you only have mild symptoms or even no symptoms at all
How to ventilate your home
- Opening windows and doors at home is the simplest way of improving ventilation
- If you have people working in or visiting your home, let as much fresh air into your home as possible without getting uncomfortably cold while they are there, and for a short period before they arrive and after they have left
- If someone in your home is self-isolating, keep a window slightly open in their room and keep the door closed to reduce the spread of contaminated air to other parts of the household. If the person self-isolating needs access to shared spaces in your home, ensure that these areas are well ventilated by following the guidance above
- Ventilation can be increased by leaving extractor fans in bathrooms, toilets and kitchen areas running for longer than usual, with the door closed, after someone has been in the room
- In the winter months, it is crucial that ventilation, such as trickle vents on windows, are not blocked and that other ventilation is not switched off. These actions will have minimal implications for heating costs but put you at more risk from COVID-19 transmission
Mechanical ventilation in the home
- If your home has a mechanical ventilation system, make sure this is working and maintained in line with manufacturers' instructions
- If possible, set ventilation systems to bring fresh air in and not recirculate indoor air. Devices that only recirculate indoor air will not remove airborne virus from the home
- Please be safe, and if necessary, latch windows - this will allow ventilation whilst reducing risks.
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