Wafaa El-Sadr, MD, MPH, MPA, global director of ICAP at Columbia University, is quoted in a Aug 12 CNN article discussing how stores and other small businesses can improve ventilation systems to limit airborne transmission of the coronavirus. CNN wrote that supermarkets and retail stores have added a variety of safety features since the start of the pandemic, but issues remain. Some epidemiologists, biologists and engineers say that stores should use a MERV 13 filter or above in their ventilation systems. Dr. El-Sadr agreed that the intervention could be helpful saying:
“Aerosols are very small particles usually less than 5 microns in diameter. MERV 13 and above filters can trap such small particles.”
