How to live with coronavirus in summer

Teachers check and clean an air conditioner at a classroom of Yangjin Elementary School in Seoul in this May 7 photo. Yonhap

By Bahk Eun-ji

The arrival of summer is raising questions among the public about how to continue to follow preventive measures against the COVID-19 pandemic amid the rising heat.

The health authorities have urged citizens to keep vigilance in the coming summer season, amid growing concerns about whether using air-conditioners is safe because of the coronavirus outbreak. As the weather warms up across the country, many are unclear about how to cope when indoors given the increasing temperature.

Namely, is it safe to use air-conditioning? Can they open the windows for a cool breeze? Is it safe to use KF80 or a dental mask instead of KF94 masks that makes it harder for users to breathe?

Here are guidelines from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and preventions (KCDC) to fight a possible second wave of the pandemic.

Wearing mask

Koreans don't argue with whether wearing masks are helpful in stemming the spread of the virus anymore. But more people have started to complain about wearing them during the hot and humid summer months.

A 33-year-old office worker Kim Seung-won said he often feels suffocated when he walks around outside wearing a mask during the day.

“As the weather gets hotter, wearing a mask becomes more challenging as it makes it harder to breathe. When I was in the sun, I sometimes felt dizzy,” Kim said.

The respiratory muscles come under stress, resulting in shortness of breath and making it easier for heat to build up inside the body as wearing masks in hot weather makes it difficult for cool air to reach the lungs.

Kim said he can't give up wearing for the sake of public safety, but he is already worrying about how he can cope with it during the peak of summer.

Regarding the issue, the government advised that it is okay to wear a KF80, dental and cotton masks instead of KF90 ones that make it more difficult to breathe in hot weather.

“In the summer when it gets hotter, there are some people who prefer the KF80 mask that is easier to breathe in. If you don't have a KF80 or dental mask, a cotton mask is also helpful,” said Yang Jin-young, deputy director of the division managing supply and demand for masks at the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (KFDS) during a recent regular briefing.

KF in the mask names stands for ”Korean filter.” Masks produced in Korea are required to be certified by the KFDS, and the number represents the filter performance. The higher the number, the higher the filtration action.

Among the masks currently distributed on the market, products for specified health use include “KF80,” “KF94” and “KF99.” KF94 and above level masks are necessary for caregivers and medical staff who are at high risk in taking care of patients with infectious diseases, but the general public can safely use KF80 or dental masks.

However, in order to prevent infection in pregnant women, children, the elderly and patients with respiratory problems it is recommended to immediately stop the use of masks if they create difficulty in breathing, Yang said.

Using AC is okay but ventilate often

The use of air conditioners has become a new source of concern in Korea as millions of people recommence using public transportation and as students prepare to go back to school gradually. With summer already knocking on the door, many are wondering if it is safe to switch on the devices which have traditionally been the go to answer for instant cooling in the oppressive heat and humidity of Korean summer.

Last week during a regular press briefing, the KCDC director Jung Eun-kyeong said experts view using air conditioning as okay as long as the room is frequently ventilated. The next day, the Ministry of Education also released a guideline to keep all windows at least one-third open at all times while running air conditioning.

Use of air conditioners has been a contentious issue as a Chinese research team raised the possibility of the device contributing to droplet transmission. In a research letter published in the U.S. Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal, a Chinese team of researchers traced 10 COVID-19 patients back to an air-conditioned restaurant that they had all dined in, in January, in Guangzhou, China. They found that one of the diners who had visited Wuhan, the epicenter of the epidemic, was the primary transmitter of the virus to the others via airflow of the air conditioner.

However, the quarantine authorities believe the possibility has not yet been sufficiently studied or tested, so are recommending when using air conditioners to ventilate frequently.

The Chinese study analyzed one example from a restaurant yet while the restaurant used an air conditioner it was reported that there was no window for ventilation,” Jeong said.

“More research and experimentation is required to verify the study but, for now, experts are considering this possibility, and we are collecting opinions from experts on using air conditioners and will be able to give more detailed guidelines as the information comes to hand,” she added.