1) Quebec’s new chief public health officer stunned the scientific world Thursday when he seemed to shrug off the precautionary principle and dismissed installing air purifiers in schools during the #pandemic. What key knowledge does Dr. Luc Boileau possess on this subject?
2) "We don’t have to deploy this equipment, which has not been shown in a school context to be a factor of improvement (in dealing) with COVID in particular,” Boileau said at a news conference. “There’s no demonstration on the scientific side.”
https://twitter.com/CovidEcoles/status/1486818885772918784
3) In this thread, I will draw your attention to what just a few other jurisdictions and scientific bodies have had to say about air purifiers in schools, each one applying the precautionary principle during the worst respiratory #pandemic since the 1918 Spanish Flu.
4) Close to Quebec, this is the official policy of the Ontario government: “For schools or parts of schools without mechanical ventilation, school boards are expected to place standalone high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter units in all classrooms.”
5) In the U.S., the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health has this to say:“ Even if ventilation in a school already meets current building standards (many do not), additional air filtration from a portable device can help reduce the potential for SARS-CoV-2 transmission.”
6) In Germany, the Indoor Air Hygiene Commission (IRK) takes a more nuanced approach, suggesting something similar to Quebec: opening windows. But if this can’t be done (as it clearly can’t during Quebec’s frigid winters) air purifiers are then recommended in classrooms.
7) In much warmer Australia, the Ministry of Education’s official policy (reviewed on Jan. 23) states the following: “Reducing COVID-19 transmission in school settings can be achieved…using air purifiers to augment ventilation.”
8) And in New Zealand, an island nation that has handled the #pandemic in a most precautionary manner, the government last week ordered no fewer than 5,000 Samsung air purifiers for its schools. 
9) So let me return to my original query: What scientific knowledge does Boileau possess on why air purifiers are unnecessary in schools, especially in a #pandemic? Given that parents have been clamoring for them, why not hold a technical briefing on the subject? End of thread.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
