Schools in England and Wales opened for the new term this week, with extra measures in place to help contain the spread of coronavirus. Among the precautions will be the use of carbon dioxide monitors in classrooms, National News reports.
The Department for Education (DfE) announced that it would be spending £25m on providing 300,000 CO2 monitors for schools in August, to help staff identify areas of poor ventilation, and for reassurance that ventilation measures were working.
Scientific research has proved that coronavirus transmits mainly by airborne particles, and the areas where people are at the highest risk of infection are poorly ventilated enclosed spaces, where large groups are gathered. This makes schools and other educational establishments particularly vulnerable, especially as the majority of pupils are unvaccinated.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said: “Providing all schools with CO2 monitors will help them make sure they have the right balance of measures in place, minimising any potential disruption to education and allowing them to focus on world-class lessons and catch up for the children who need it.”
Teachers’ unions welcomed the decision to install CO2 monitors, which they had been emphatically campaigning for prior to the announcement. They criticised the slowness of the government to act, commenting that air-monitoring and ventilation equipment should have been in place before schools reopened.
Natural ventilation of buildings can be improved by fully or partially opening air vents and windows, and propping doors open (but not fire doors). Rooms should also be regularly aired by fully opening doors and windows for a length of time.
If the room is part of a workplace, employees should be aware that they can take some responsibility for putting natural methods of ventilation in place. In rooms which are poorly ventilated, they should not use desk or ceiling fans, as this can exacerbate the spread of airborne viruses, the HSE explains.
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