Amid concerns that the re-opening of schools may lead to a spike in coronavirus infections, Devon air quality specialist, Plain Air, is offering a Covid-19 evaluation and solutions service to help keep teachers, students and their families safe.
The Managing Director of Plain Air, John Wilton Davies, says: “Students must wear masks, but they can’t be made to. Covid tests, which might result in some 50,000 students receiving false-positive results, cannot be repeated to check for mistakes, leading to needless isolation and yet more missed school.
We do know that the key to reducing transmission in the classroom is to remove any virus from the air before it can cause further infection. Guidelines suggest opening windows where possible, resulting in freezing conditions totally unsuited to learning, increased noise and pollution, and enormous spikes in heating costs.”
With indoor conditions being so crucial to both learning and health, Plain Air with expertise in indoor air quality, is surprised how few schools have taken even the simplest of steps to improve the classroom environment.
Mr. Wilton-Davies adds: “The government recognises the need to reduce airborne virus but limits advice to increasing external ventilation. There are, however, effective and affordable solutions. Properly specified air purifiers remove virus with almost 100% efficiency without replacing the (expensively heated) air, can be rented through Department for Education-friendly leases, and are cheaper than the additional heating costs from open windows alone.”
Plain Air has launched an evaluation service for schools, providing an analysis of current precautions and advice on recommended improvements. A risk assessment tool calculates the current and potential future risk of Covid transmission within the school, whilst air quality testing identifies other health risks.
John Wilton-Davies explains: “When a classroom is too cold, or not properly ventilated, pupil attention and learning falls dramatically – enough to be noticeable in school rankings. Normal Covid guidance is over-simplistic and creates a direct, but unnecessary, conflict between reducing infection risk and creating the right conditions for effective education. Solutions can generally be put in place in a few days, don’t require structural installation or the approval of estate owners or managers, and have an immediate impact.”
