Spread of SARS-CoV-2 aerosols via two connected drainage stacks in a high-rise housing outbreak of COVID-19

Highlights

• The vertical cluster of the outbreak is probably associated with drainage stacks.

• Tracer gas measurement and phylogenetic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences were applied.

• The results of tracer gas monitoring agreed with the observed distribution of infected cases.

• Leaked stack aerosols may have played the main role in the vertical cluster.

• The chimney effect was the probable primary cause for the vertical spreading.

Abstract

Vertical transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) along a vertical column of flats has been documented in several outbreaks of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Guangdong and Hong Kong. We describe an outbreak in Luk Chuen House, involving two vertical columns of flats associated with an unusually connected two-stack drainage system, in which nine individuals from seven households were infected. The index case resided in Flat 812 (8th floor, Unit 12), two flats (813, 817) on its opposite side reported one case each (i.e., a horizontal sub-cluster). All other flats with infected residents were vertically associated, forming a vertical sub-cluster. We injected tracer gas (SF₆) into drainage stacks via toilet or balcony of Flat 812, monitored gas concentrations in roof vent, toilet, façade, and living room in four of the seven flats with infected residents and four flats with no infected residents. The measured gas concentration distributions agreed with the observed distribution of affected flats. Aerosols leaking into drainage stacks may generate the vertical sub-cluster, whereas airflow across the corridor probably caused the horizontal sub-cluster. Sequencing and phylogenetic analyses also revealed a common point-source. The findings provided additional evidence of probable roles of drainage systems in SARS-CoV-2 transmission.