A Jump Start to the Winter Surge?
Nationally, "COVID-19 is on the rise again, yet another indicator that the pandemic isn't truly over."
Covid modeler J.P. Weiland showed on December 4th, 2023 that the winter surge is about the same as it was last year at this point based on wastewater virus samples.
And of course there are spots where the surge is even higher. One such spot appears to be here in Keene, NH, where the wastewater virus levels are off to a jump start — eight times the levels of a year ago, and already higher than last winter’s peak! (Note that the national graph above covers more than three years, and the Keene graph below is for the last 15 months.)
And a New Meter to Help
So it looks like something in the order of one out of every 40 or 50 people have covid-19 today, and of course most of these people don’t know it, due to symptoms not appearing yet, or being hardly noticeable, or the disease being mistaken for something else without testing being done.
Given this, it’s good timing to have a new Safetulator™ Fresh Air Meter available for those who want to use the best tool for reducing transmission in group settings. We have learned from meter users that it is often difficult to know the best way to use a meter, to take readings, and to interpret them. (We gave some tips in the Sept. 15, 2023 blog post.)
This new meter is the easiest to use yet. It has the rarest of features compared to the hundreds of meters out there — that you can take it out of the box and plug it in and it works — accurately and stays accurate — without any adjustments or set-up on your part. There is a single button on the back that lets you cycle through three levels of display brightness and that’s it!
It's great for your office, workplace, or classroom—where you have the means to adjust the amount of fresh air ventilation. Your control over the fresh air might be moving a lever on an air register, controlling a fan speed, or cracking open one or more windows.
To use the meter, plug it in to the wall adapter and set it up at a representative spot — not where any air is blowing on the meter, and not within two feet of a window or a person.
Then just let it run for a while — come back later and you will find a 24-hour visual history of the average amount of fresh air per person (CO2 concentration) at that spot in the room. You will be able to see when people were in the room, and when the room was empty or nearly empty. Here is a chart that explains the colors and meanings.
Now you can experiment with your fresh air adjustments. As we have discussed before, you will be reducing airborne infections by 80% by “keeping it in the green”. If the meter shows all three green bars, this indicates the optimal level, with the displayed number being in the range 667 to 799. And if you have a properly-sized room air purifier that is running and has a clean filter, all the green plus the lowest yellow bar is OK too.
We are in the early stages of handling this meter, so we have limited supplies. We check the calibration of each meter, add some labels and instructions, and include a wall adapter. The package is available from us for $125 — if you’re interested in ordering one, please email safetulator@kohlerandlewis.com. Shipping and handling is $25 for one to three meters, and free shipping if you buy four or more.
Wishing you and yours Happy Holidays with lots of fresh air!
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