Another Dutchman who has tested positive for the corona virus in Tokyo. After skateboarder Candy Jacobs, taekwondoka Reshmie Oogink, rower Finn Florijn and a staff member of the rowing team, NOS commentator Jeroen Elshoff also appears to have received a positive test result.
What all infected Dutch people at the Olympic Games have in common is that they were on KLM flight KL861 to Tokyo last week. They were together on the same plane for about 11 hours, but whether they contracted their infection there is not easy to say, according to experts, although it can certainly not be ruled out.
RIVM does not want to go into the matter, because in the institute’s opinion it is not urgent. The health organization does refer to research that the Netherlands Aerospace Center (NLR) did in June in collaboration with RIVM in June. That confirmed previous results from the World Health Organization (WHO) and aviation organization IATA: the risk of contamination on board an aircraft is relatively small.
Sneezing or coughing without a mouth cap
KLM also referred to that investigation yesterday and emphasizes that it takes the safety and health of everyone on board seriously, including by thoroughly cleaning the aircraft. Furthermore, the company only allows people who wear suitable face protection and people must adhere to the corona measures on board.
“During the flight, the air in our aircraft is constantly refreshed with fresh air drawn in from outside,” explains KLM further. So-called HEPA filters are used, which, according to KLM, capture 99.99 percent of the viruses and bacteria.
The air on board is indeed refreshed much better than in other places, says aviation expert Joris Melkert of TU Delft. “That was also the case before corona. On average, the air is refreshed every 2 to 3 minutes, and a piece is recirculated. But of course you are all together. If your neighbor is sneezing or coughing without a mouth cap, that will come. your way.”
Risk at airports
“The protocol is good, but not 100 percent opaque,” he says. “But if everyone adheres to the guidelines, the chance of infection is small. There are also no known cases of large-scale infections on board, except for one last year on a flight from Greece to England”. That flight was full of partying people who were not wearing masks.
Field epidemiologist Amrish Baidjoe also points out that air exchange does not eliminate all risks. “The risk of contamination on board depends on the measures you take before boarding. For example, do you reduce your social contacts beforehand? If you don’t, the risk increases. And do you stick to the measures? We know that we are laconic about this in the Netherlands.”
Baidjoe also points out the contamination risks at airports, so as far as TeamNL is concerned, at Schiphol. “Airports really do their best, but they run their peak times in the summer. You stand in line at customs, at check-in and boarding. You do wear a mask, but infections occur there too,” said Baidjoe.
Better source and contact research
Melkert sees that too. “Behaviour also plays a role. Have people been seated on the plane with their masks on? Is the plane properly cleaned? And when you land you see that people immediately grab their luggage and squeeze into the aisle. And then you come at customs, there too people are queuing up again. In other words, such an infection could have happened anywhere.”
“Research will show whether the risk of contamination on the plane is really that small,” says field epidemiologist Baidjoe. “If someone has the delta variant, they have more virus particles with them, and they are also excreted.” In this context, he also argues for better source and contact research for travelers.
The GGD Kennemerland normally conducts this investigation in the Netherlands if a person who has tested positive has been infectious on an airplane, but according to a spokesperson, this is not the case now. Because the Dutch Olympians were not yet positive when they went to Japan, the Japanese equivalent of the GGD is now responsible, he says.
–
