Study on the Risk of Cross-Infection and Reduction Strategies for the Queueing Population in Subway Stations

Subway stations are characterized by poor ventilation, high density of people, and close exposure, making them one of the high-risk places for the spread of infectious diseases. Based on the CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamic) method, this paper studied the effects of mask-wearing, personnel distance, ventilation volume, and air supply distance on the risk of cross-infection for people in queues in different risk areas of subway stations. The risk of cross-infection in the high-density queue in the subway station was evaluated and the reduction strategy was proposed. The results showed that in the process of close contact in the ticketing area without masks, the infected persons not only exposed the people in front of them to high risk but also increased the exposure risk of people on both sides of them. There is still a high risk of infection during close security checks, and it is recommended that security personnel wear masks. The prevention and control effect of comprehensive ventilation in subway stations is affected by air supply distance and ventilation volume. For areas close to the air supply outlet (< 0.5 m), increasing ventilation volume can significantly reduce the risk of infection. For the area far from the air outlet (>1 m), the effect of increasing the ventilation volume to reduce the risk is poor. The findings of this study are expected to provide a basis for the formulation of reasonable prevention and control measures, help relieve the pressure of epidemic prevention and control in subway stations, and save prevention and control costs.