question: How long does an examination room need to remain vacant after being occupied by a patient with confirmed or suspected COVID-19?
answer: The amount of time that the air inside an examination room remains potentially infectious depends on a number of factors including the size of the room, the number of air changes per hour, how long the patient was in the room, if the patient was coughing or sneezing, and if an aerosol-generating procedure was performed. In general, it is recommended to restrict HCP and patients without PPE from entering the room until sufficient time has elapsed for enough air changes to remove potentially infectious particles. General guidance is available on clearance rates under differing ventilation conditions. In addition to ensuring sufficient time for enough air changes to remove potentially infectious particles, HCP should clean and disinfect environmental surfaces and shared equipment before the room is used for another patient.