Can a fan, UV lights help this Lexington restaurant combat COVID-19 spread?
A Lexington restaurant hopes to fight COVID-19 with technology by using two ultraviolet lights and a large ceiling fan to help clean and circulate the air inside.
The restaurant is Bear & the Butcher, located at 815 Euclid Ave. Glenn Cox, general manager, said the lights purify the air and the fan pushes that air back into the dining area.
“This is state of the art stuff,” said Glenn Cox, general manager of the restaurant. “We’re sort of the maiden voyage of doing this.”
McClatchy recently reported that “Salons, hotels, and even public transit are investing in devices that emit ultraviolet light to protect against the coronavirus, but some gadgets work better than others, and experts warn UV isn’t the magic bullet many hope it is.”
As that article noted, “Ultraviolet light can burn the skin and damage the eyes, but studies show it can also kill COVID-19 in the air and on surfaces, given enough time, according to the University of Pennsylvania. There’s no evidence to show, however, that UV does anything to prevent infection, or can destroy the virus in an already infected person, according to the University of Pennsylvania.”
A recent report on the topic by National Public Radio also focused on the use of UV technology in public spaces, including restaurants. “As the science continues to evolve, UV could emerge as an attractive safeguard against airborne transmission — one with a track record against previous pathogens — that can be deployed to cut down the risk of infectious aerosols accumulating in indoor settings such as schools, public buildings and businesses,” the NPR report noted.
In addition to the fan currently installed, Cox said the Lexington restaurant will install two other smaller fans in the dining area that will further cleanse the air. Cox said the fan was installed a few years ago, at a cost of around $3,000. The two lights, Cox said, came at a cost of $1,000.
The equipment was sourced from Big Ass Fans, a company headquartered in Lexington that provides fans, lighting and controls for commercial and industrial uses.
According to BAF, the mixing of air from higher points and lower points in the restaurant will allow for thorough reduction of pathogens in the air, making it cleaner. According to the website, this process cleanses up to 89% of the pathogens in the air.
UV light has been used to disinfect items such as contact lenses, drinking water, air and titanium implants, according to a 2016 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Although UV light is shown to kill bacteria and viruses, and is used for disinfection purposes, the CDC report says the usefulness of UV light is influenced by factors such as wavelength, temperature, intensity and the type of microorganism.
Cox said other places that have UV lights for this purpose are healthcare facilities in third-world countries. There, they are used to treat tuberculosis and other diseases.
According to the CDC, UV lights in this application are used for the “destruction of airborne organisms or inactivation of microorganisms on surfaces.”
“It keeps those hospital workers safe and it keeps patients that aren’t suffering from TB safe,” Cox said.
Aside from the fans, Cox said the restaurant has done everything it needs to for patrons to be safe during the pandemic, such as wiping down tables, having employees wear masks and gloves and making hand sanitizer available for guests.
“We’re doing all the stuff you’re supposed to do,” Cox said. “We want to do everything we possibly can to make people feel safe. And for us, this is just that next step.”
The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department was unable to provide comment on the effectiveness of UV lights against disease spread.
This story was originally published July 17, 2020 at 10:42 AM.