Evidence Summary

Contamination was greater in intensive care units (54/124 samples) than general wards (9/114 samples). 

A 100% rate of positivity was found on the floor in the pharmacy, where there were no patients.

Half of the samples from the soles of the ICU medical staff shoes tested positive.

The rate of positivity was relatively high for floor swab samples (ICU 7/10; general ward 2/13). 

The highest rates were found for computer mice (ICU 6/8; general ward 1/5), followed by trash cans (ICU 3/ 5; general ward 0/8), sickbed handrails (ICU 6/14; general ward 0/12), and doorknobs (general ward 1/12, 8.3%).

SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in the air 4 m from patients.

A Layout of the intensive care unit (ICU) 

The order of dressing is dressing room 1, dressing room 2, and dressing room 3; the order of undressing in dressing room 4, dressing room 5, and dressing room 6. 

The isolation ward of ICU is a large floor space with 15 cubicles (each with a patient bed) along the 2 opposite perimeters. Each cubicle is open to the central open area without any partition. 

B and general ward 

The order of dressing is dressing room 1, dressing room 2, and dressing room 3; the order of undressing in dressing room 4, dressing room 5, and buffer room 1. The contaminated area of the general ward contains a patient corridor, and the 1-sided cubicles are all enclosed with door access to the corridor.”

Spatial distribution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 aerosols in isolation wards of the intensive care unit (ICU) and the general ward at Huoshenshan Hospital, Wuhan, China. 

1. A) The air sampling sites in the ICU were distributed in different regions: near the air outlet (site 1), near the patients (site 2), and around the doctors’ office area (site 3). Orange circles represent sampling sites; blue arrows represent direction of the fresh air flow; and the graded orange arrow and scale bar indicate the horizontal distance from the patient’s head. 
2. B) In terms of viral aerosol distribution, the space in the ICU was divided into 2 parts: a high-risk area with a 41% rate of virus positivity and a low-risk area with a 13% rate of virus positivity. 
3. C) The air sampling sites in the general ward were distributed in different regions around the patient (site 1), under the air inlet (site 2), and in the patient corridor. 
4. D) Viral aerosol distributionL space in the general ward divided into 2 parts: a high-risk area with a 13% rate of virus positivity and a low-risk area with a 0% rate of virus positivity.