Airborne transmission of virus via respiratory aerosols plays an important role in the spread of infectious diseases in indoor environments. Ventilation and social distancing are two major control strategies to reduce the indoor airborne infection risk. However, there is a present lack of science-based information on how the human exposure to viral aerosols vary with ventilation condition and social distance. The objective of this study is to explore the transport patterns of respiratory aerosols in occupied spaces and assess the occupant exposure risk under different ventilation strategies, social distances and aerosol emission modes. The study results show that buoyancy-driven flow regime (can be found in many residential settings) can lead to a longer transmission distance and elevated exposure to viral aerosols than the mixing airflow, thereby causing higher cross-infection risk in indoor environments. The results also suggest that a 2 m (6 ft) social distance alone may not ensure control of indoor airborne infections.

病毒通过呼吸道气溶胶的空气传播在室内环境中传染病的传播中起着重要作用。通风和社交距离是降低室内空气传播感染风险的两大控制策略。然而，目前缺乏关于人类暴露于病毒气溶胶如何随通风条件和社会距离变化的科学信息。本研究的目的是探索占用空间中呼吸气溶胶的传输模式，并评估在不同通风策略、社交距离和气溶胶排放模式下的占用风险。研究结果表明，与混合气流相比，浮力驱动的流动状态（可以在许多住宅环境中找到）可以导致更长的传输距离和更多的病毒气溶胶暴露，从而在室内环境中造成更高的交叉感染风险。结果还表明，仅保持 2 米（6 英尺）的社交距离可能无法确保控制室内空气传播感染。