(11 Jun 2020) Ahead of a French government announcement later this week on the opening of restaurant interiors to diners, French celebrity chef Alain Ducasse on Thursday unveiled a novel art-infused air ventilation system in one of his smallest Parisian restaurants.
The aim is to dramatically reduce the risk of airborne coronavirus transmission using technology from hospitals — with a touch of Parisian style.
Using the high-tech air filtration devices used in hospitals, a group of inventors conceived of a system of chic metal pipes, filters and diffusers to slow down the speed of air particles.
The system cost around 50,000 euros, and means that smaller restaurants, like the size of Ducasse's Allard in the Parisian Left Bank, can keep a capacity of 80%.
The system was tested to show in a 12 hour experiment that air molecules between tables did not pass, as particles were slowed down and whisked away by a suction device from "ventilation mouths" above each diner.
Social distancing measures signaled a death knell for many smaller restaurants over fears that capacity would be reduced by 50 or 60 %.
The new coronavirus is spread mainly by respiratory droplets when people cough or sneeze, but experts have warned that the virus can also be spread by people before they develop symptoms.
To prevent transmission, many experts recommend people stay at least 1 metre away from others, in addition to hygiene measures like regular hand-washing.
Ducasse's Allard in the chic Left Bank has been closed since March, and like many eateries in Paris' narrow cobbled streets there is no outside seating area.
Outside areas were permitted to open again in Paris last week.
The technology at Ducasse's restaurant is infused with art.
Images of air divinities, as well as pigeons and clouds — emblematic of Paris — decorate the filters transforming the sanitized feel.
France's state health agency INRS validated the system, saying the system "allows a significant reduction in the risk of virus transmission in a restaurant.
However, Julian W. Tang of Leicester University Respiratory Sciences department expressed some skepticism over such systems.
Ducasse said he will wait until he sees the popularity of this system before he applies it to another of his 40 restaurants worldwide.
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