Belgium CO2 Monitoring Mandate

Belgian authorities recently, on June 9th, mandated that hotels, restaurants, bars, event halls, and gyms must actively monitor carbon dioxide levels inside their venues. Carbon dioxide levels can be an effective measure for how well-ventilated a room is and by proxy, how much coronavirus may be present in the interior air.

A recent and excellent report by the UK government offers balanced insights into the conditions where CO2 monitoring can be effective and those where it may be less useful.

For example, “Measurements of elevated CO2 levels in indoor air are an effective method of identifying poor ventilation in multi-occupant spaces. In low occupancy or large volume spaces, a low level of CO2 cannot necessarily be used as an indicator that ventilation is sufficient to mitigate transmission risks (medium confidence).”