The Consequences of COVID-19 Instigated Recommendations for Indoor Air Quality: A Literature Review

The spread of COVID-19, as an airborne virus, opened a vast set of investigations within the realm of indoor air quality (IAQ) management and control. These investigations resulted in the publication of a series of recommendations and addenda that complement currently active IAQ standards and guidelines to meet the growing health and safety concerns of building owners, operators, and users. The hypothesis stands that the airborne transmission of the COVID-19 virus implies that more stringent indoor air quality control measures should be applied. Through a systematic review of selected recently published academic journals, this article explores the intended and non-intended consequences of the indoor air quality recommendations, guidelines, and standards. Two main approaches of classifications are induced from the review. The first categorizes the consequences based on the intentionality (i.e., intended vs. unintended consequences) and temporal scope (i.e. short-term or long-term). The second categorizes consequences based on their area, namely, (1) spatial design, (2) occupants health, comfort and well-being (3) building performance and ventilation, (4) technology and energy efficiency (5) social equity, and (6) policy as well as building standards. This is one of the first reviews make explicit the consequences of COVID related of addenda and recommendations of IAQ standards and guidelines, providing new insights regarding the planned and unplanned consequences. The review also highlights some gaps in the available literature that researchers need to swiftly address before institutionalizing the current health recommendations in IAQ practices