Preventing coronavirus takes air purification, company says
Air-disinfecting units can reduce risk of contracting other diseases
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With the spread of the coronavirus, the CDC is warning people to thoroughly wash their hands, or use hand sanitizer if there’s no other option, but one company says considering your indoor air quality is just as important.
WellAir, an Ireland-based company, sells air-disinfecting units, which use plasma technology to “reduce viruses, bacteria, particulate, mold and VOCs in indoor air,” the website says.
Doug Jones, the vice president of sales in the United States at WellAir, told FOX Business that the company’s devices have been known to reduce risk of contracting several diseases including influenza, MRSA, measles, tuberculosis, aspergillus and a known surrogate for the coronavirus.
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“Right now, we’re trying to still make a name for ourselves in the market,” Jones said. “The biggest challenge we have is the CDC has not been specific for the air purification or infection control units and it’s all been towards rinsing the hands … Our idea is with the air, it really is just as important.”
“In the past, everyone has always been focused on hand hygiene and surface disinfection and really ... you want to close the loop and address the air situation,” he added.
However, the devices are just a preventative measure for indoor air quality and can’t help someone who has already been infected by the coronavirus.
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WellAir sells three sizes of its portable air purifiers, as well as entire HVAC systems that disinfect the air from “particulate matter, odors, viruses and bacteria,” according to the website.
Last month, the company donated 22 portable units to two hospitals in Wuhan, China, where the COVID-19 outbreak first started.
“We wanted to make sure we got those units to them as quickly as possible and we didn’t want to go through the red tape,” Jones said. “We wanted to make sure they had the units and wanted to make sure that it was at the heart of the situation in Wuhan.”
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During the last several months, the company has increased manufacturing, particularly for international sales, which Jones said have been strong.
“Internationally, we are farther along in terms of our distribution strategy and getting the product out there,” he said. “Here in the States, we are just ramping up now.”
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In past years, WellAir has focused on selling its devices to nursing homes and schools, but within the last year or so, the company has turned towards doctors offices and hospitals, Jones said.
“With the health care space, even aside from the coronavirus, there is a drastic need for air purification,” Jones said.