In the war against Covid-19, some of the most old-fashioned solutions have been the most effective:
Wear a mask
Self-quarantine if you have symptoms
Take activities outdoors
Should the simple act of opening windows be added to the list? https://trib.al/U54s2Zy



Should the simple act of opening windows be added to the list? https://trib.al/U54s2Zy

The unusual practice of living and working in indoor spaces is receiving a closer look as the virus tears through some of the hottest parts of the U.S. https://trib.al/U54s2Zy
In the nineteenth century, a growing number of people lived in cramped and airless city quarters.
As disease ran rampant, the solution was simple: better ventilation through ânatural disinfectantsâ â fresh air and sunshine â that countered viral outbreaks https://trib.al/U54s2Zy
As disease ran rampant, the solution was simple: better ventilation through ânatural disinfectantsâ â fresh air and sunshine â that countered viral outbreaks https://trib.al/U54s2Zy
During the Civil War, doctors noticed that wounded soldiers treated in open-air settings had higher rates of survival than those in cramped hospitals
In time, medical advice helped drive reforms instituted in the nationâs cities https://trib.al/U54s2Zy
In time, medical advice helped drive reforms instituted in the nationâs cities https://trib.al/U54s2Zy
The continuing threat of tuberculosis added to the growing obsession with fresh air.
Middle-class Americans embraced the idea that the only way to prevent the respiratory disease â and perhaps even cure it â was to spend as much time as possible outdoors https://trib.al/U54s2Zy
Middle-class Americans embraced the idea that the only way to prevent the respiratory disease â and perhaps even cure it â was to spend as much time as possible outdoors https://trib.al/U54s2Zy
The idea of a âsleeping porchâ â typically, a well-ventilated, screened area on the second floor where residents could spend the night â became fashionable.
So, too, did verandas, bungalows and enormous porches designed to catch a breeze https://trib.al/U54s2Zy
So, too, did verandas, bungalows and enormous porches designed to catch a breeze https://trib.al/U54s2Zy
In the 1920s, a group of engineers decided to tame nature â and encourage Americans to shut the windows.
Willis Carrier, a textile engineer who worked in factories, who coined the phrase âair conditioningâ https://trib.al/U54s2Zy
Willis Carrier, a textile engineer who worked in factories, who coined the phrase âair conditioningâ https://trib.al/U54s2Zy
Not everyone embraced the new technology.
So-called âopen-air crusadersâ warned that no matter how sophisticated the machinery, there was simply no substitute for open windows for discouraging the spread of germs https://trib.al/U54s2Zy
So-called âopen-air crusadersâ warned that no matter how sophisticated the machinery, there was simply no substitute for open windows for discouraging the spread of germs https://trib.al/U54s2Zy
Critics of climate control continued to argue that mechanically processed air was less healthy and more dangerous during viral outbreaks.
The engineers won in the end, with air conditioning enjoying broad acceptance in the U.S. by the end of World War II https://trib.al/U54s2Zy
The engineers won in the end, with air conditioning enjoying broad acceptance in the U.S. by the end of World War II https://trib.al/U54s2Zy
Our love of air conditioning fueled a dramatic shift of population to the Sun Belt. Between 1940 and 1980:
The northeast only grew by 41%
The Sun Belt grew by 112%
https://trib.al/U54s2Zy


https://trib.al/U54s2Zy
Viruses donât normally thrive in hot and humid weather.
But if everyone sits inside dry, climate-controlled environments sealed off from the outside, weâre more or less giving Covid what it needs to reproduce
https://trib.al/U54s2Zy
But if everyone sits inside dry, climate-controlled environments sealed off from the outside, weâre more or less giving Covid what it needs to reproduce
https://trib.al/U54s2Zy