#1 VENTILATION is very important, we need oxygen to function. Even before Covid, stuffy classrooms meant sleepy children, poor learning & more illness. DO NOT seal up rooms
#2 FILTRATION is another layer of protection & ...
.. & may mean that a higher reading on a CO2 monitor is ok
CO2 monitors measure ventilation, not filtration
When a room has filtration it may still have stale stuffy air ..but it’s stale stuffy air that’s had virus removed by a filter (as happens on aircraft)
Here’s a guide:
#3 but WHICH filtration? There are different approaches, both valid:
*crisis action, act fast, take what’s available, quick impact
OR
*long term investment, take care, get it right, more impact (but not yet)
Personally, I favour immediate impact because health trumps money
#4 AIR CLEANING
What’s recommended most is basic low-tech, cheap-as-chips, can’t-go-wrong filtration. That’s a fan (to pull air) + a filter (to catch particles)
AVOID ionisers, ozone, ‘electronics’ & ‘plasma’ that may not be effective & could cause harm
#5 HOW MUCH filtration/ventilation?
Currently >1 in 50 primary school children had a + PCR in last 2 weeks, so almost every class has an infectious child (statistically)
In these conditions we need EVERYTHING
😷 masks
🪟 ventilation
♻️filtration
👨🏫 management
🧠 common sense
#6 BLINDSPOTS
Outside the class, the high-risk pinch points need very careful attention
⛹🏽♀️🗣🎺PE, singing & wind instruments are high risk, move outside
* lunch (masks off) should be outside, or well spaced (use halls & corridors), or not face-to-face & silent (show a video)
#7 TRANSPORT to/from school may be he highest risk of day
🚘 crack open windows on 2 sides, switch car fan to fresh air (not recirculation) & wear masks
🚌 open windows or roof vent where available, run fans on full fresh air, wear masks & spread out
#8 TOILETS, locker rooms, store rooms, corridors, lifts & break-rooms
Covid can linger in the air for hours in EMPTY rooms in certain conditions
Ventilate these spaces well.. & wear a mask everywhere indoors in the current very high-risk conditions
Lying-in women (maternity) & the ‘offensively’ sick: 1,200 cubic feet (34m3 ≈ 14m2 floor area)
(source: Healthy Houses, 1876)
& it gets better
..the book was written by William Eassie, “late assistant engineer to Renkioi Hospital during the Crimean War”
Renkioi Hospital (1855) was a prefabricated hospital, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel with “the necessities of hygiene: sanitation, ventilation, drainage & temperature controls.. integrated in 1,000-patient hospital layout, using 60 of the unit wards” en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renkioi_H…
😷 Can you turn your surgical mask into a well-fitting mask? YES with a « mask brace » & free template to make one (see elastic band hack in next tweet)