Aerosol transmission almost always takes place indoors in poorly ventilated and/or crowded spaces, particularly when people are talking or singing. A metre or two of distance is more than sufficient in a well-ventilated space; in a poorly ventilated space, the virus may well be present anywhere in the room for some time after a contagious person has left the area.

This explains why the virus has proven so hard to contain absent either total lockdowns or extraordinarily aggressive contact-tracing and quarantining that most governments are unwilling or unable to enforce: most of the “preventative” measures recommended by the WHO and governments around the world have been spectacularly useless. Meanwhile, we’ve failed to do the one thing that the science tells us is most effective to prevent transmission: ensure adequate ventilation in all indoor spaces to prevent the accumulation of virus-laden aerosols.

As vaccination rates increase in some countries, life is slowly returning to something resembling our former normal. However, the world continues to face serious long-term risks from COVID-19 mutations, vaccine scepticism and new respiratory viruses that can be transmitted via aerosols. Given this reality, poorly ventilated indoor spaces will continue to pose a risk to our physical and economic well-being for many years to come.

Vaccination is a critical but incomplete solution to this massive long-term public health and economic challenge. If we want to ensure that people can safely resume indoor activities like dining, working, shopping, or travelling on public transportation, we must make sure that indoor spaces are adequately ventilated to prevent the accumulation of aerosols.

Fortunately, TycheTools AQaaS provides the owners and managers of public spaces and workplaces with an easy-to-install, scalable and cost-effective way to monitor indoor ventilation 24/7. At the same time, our Air Lens APP provides every person in the room with the priceless benefit of peace-of-mind: if ventilation is poor, push notifications enable each of us to take the actions that will keep us safe.

As someone who has spent much of the last year trying to understand why Spain and so many others, where politics have taken control, have failed to avoid so much unnecessary suffering and death. I am delighted that a scientific consensus has finally emerged around the realities of aerosol transmission.

As the Executive Chairman of TycheTools, I am incredibly proud of the indoor air quality monitoring tool that our extraordinary team has developed in record time. AQaaS is a science-driven solution that can help all of us to resume our normal lives with peace of mind. Better indoor air quality is central to our future well-being: TycheTools’ AQaaS is the key to that future.