I recently received this answer to a Parliamentary Question from the Government:
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (106880):
Question:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy,
what steps he is taking to issue guidance to commercial property owners who
wish to (a) improve or (b) modify their air flow, heating and air extraction
systems to reduce the risk of spreading the virus. (106880)
Tabled on: 21 October 2020
Answer:
Paul Scully:
Evidence shows that proper ventilation can be used to mitigate the transmission risk of COVID-19, alongside other measures. Ventilation into the building should be optimised to ensure the maximum fresh air supply is provided to all areas of the facility wherever possible.
Our workplace guidance includes a number of steps that will usually be needed to ensure that ventilation systems provide a good supply of fresh air. It is important that businesses check whether ventilation systems need to be services or adjusted. If businesses and employers are unsure we advise they seek advice from their heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) engineers or advisers.
The workplace guidance broken down by business type/environment can be found here: www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19
The answer was submitted on 29 Oct 2020 at 12:43.
October 29, 2020
At a time when most businesses (except the connected ones like Amazon and Wallmart etc) are struggling for money any manager that regards investing large amounts in an air conditioning system to combat a non existent virus deserves exactly what’s coming to them. This is just another way to waste resources and destroy more businesses.
October 30, 2020
Most leases will put the cost of these improvements on the tenant Sir John
This is not viable