Virginia Beach is using hundreds of HEPA air purifiers to combat COVID-19 in city buildings

Virginia Beach — Throughout 40 city buildings, portable air purifiers are working to lower the concentrations of COVID-19 floating in the air.

More than 324 HEPA air cleaners are in use, and 161 are awaiting placement in areas used by employees or the public, said Thomas Nicholas, who oversees maintenance and management of city buildings.

The Public Works Department has spent $210,207 on the air cleaners since August. Money from the federal CARES Act helped pay for them.

Along with enhanced cleaning, Nicholas said air cleaning is another tool the city is deploying in efforts to stop the virus from spreading among its workforce and the public. Since the pandemic began about a year ago, 749 city staffers, volunteers or contracted staffers have been sick with COVID-19. Two people have died, according to the city data.

Reported COVID-19 illnesses among staffers dramatically dropped from 207 cases in January to 52 in February. Staff have been among the early recipients of vaccinations.

In its latest guidance for how to combat COVID-19 indoors, the World Health Organization endorsed using air cleaners with HEPA filters to reduce the number of airborne respiratory droplets or aerosols in indoor spaces in conjunction with proper ventilation.

The effectiveness of the portable HEPA filters will depend on a number of factors, including the airflow capacity of the unit, the configuration of the room and the position of the HEPA filter unit relative to the layout of the room. The WHO recently issued detailed recommendations to ensure their effectiveness.

Nicholas said some COVID-19 particles are too small to filter but they oftentimes attach to larger mucous protein or other biological material that are generally generated by breathing, talking or coughing, Nicholas said.

“COVID-19 particles rarely just float around in the air by themselves,” Nicholas said. “The portable air cleaners are more than 99% efficient at removing particles as small as 0.3 microns. They do remove smaller particles from the air, just not as efficiently.”

The air cleaners are in several locations visited by the public, including recreation centers, libraries, police precincts, the courthouse, treasurer’s offices and the Virginia Beach Convention Center to support the City Council and other public meetings.

Councilwoman Rosemary Wilson said the air purifier in the room where council meets helps give people added protection.

“We have got to do what we can to be safe,” Wilson said.

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Buddy Gilbert, the director of building maintenance, said his team has been in charge of setting up the purifiers and extra cleaning throughout the pandemic. He said he and other staff are happy to have another way to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19.

“I will take anything that helps combat this virus,” Gilbert said.

In Norfolk, the city has added specialized air filters to existing air-handling units in buildings across the city, said Lori Crouch, a spokeswoman for the city.

In Chesapeake, Heath Covey, a spokesperson for the city, said the city does not intend to purchase additional air purifiers.

“All of our facilities have adequate HVAC systems,” Covey said. “We have increased the fresh air flow to the maximum extent possible and do, as a matter of course, change filters in accord with a strict schedule.”

Alissa Skelton, 757-995-9043, alissa.skelton@pilotonline.com.

Reporter Gordon Rago contributed to this report.