Are Schools Turning Down Donations of Air Filters That Limit Covid Spread?
Schools Turning Down Donations of Air Filters
Some schools are turning down donations of air filters made by parents and groups of parents, but the Department for Education is now offering 7,000 extra filters to UK schools in response to widespread concern about the spread of Covid. Despite the bleak outlook, the government’s response is encouraging. It’s providing more units, and the government is offering them to schools at no cost. In England, the Department for Education is also supplying 8,000 additional units to help tackle the problem.
Using an air filter is not enough. COVID is easily transferred from one person to another, and schools need to have consistently high CO2 levels to be eligible for a government air filter. More than half of teachers in the UK don’t have CO2 monitors in their classrooms, according to the Department of Education. Last week, a Suffolk parent pulled her daughter out of a class due to fears of infection. She complained to her headteacher, who denied her request for a donation. Her school’s academy trust didn’t have any plans to install the filters, but her daughter had missed a couple of lessons. As a result, demands are growing.
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The DfE says a school must have consistently low CO2 levels in order to qualify for a government air filter. But some schools don’t have access to these monitors. A parent in Suffolk took her daughter out of a lesson due to fear of infection. But her daughter’s headteacher isn’t convinced. She complained to the academy trust’s executive director about the school’s refusal to install a Hepa filter in her daughter’s classroom.
Are Schools Turning Down Donations of Air Filters That Limit Covid Spread?
According to the Commission on COVID-19, a government air filter can limit the spread of the disease by as much as 80%. However, it’s worth noting that there are no proven air purifiers that are more effective than conventional methods. It’s also possible that an air purifier may pollute the environment. That’s why they’re often not recommended in schools.
The DfE and schools should use portable air purifiers only in the classrooms when they don’t have access to better filtration systems. They should use them together with universal masks and handwashing to prevent COVID. While there are some air filters that can limit the spread of COV, most are not effective enough. Therefore, the DfE should not install portable air purifiers in classrooms.
The DfE has to meet certain criteria in order to receive a government air filter. The schools must have consistently high CO2 levels, but many do not. More than half of UK teachers don’t have access to a CO2 monitor. A parent from Suffolk has taken her daughter out of lessons because she is worried she will get an infection. She has complained to the headteacher about the DfE’s lack of plans to install air filters in classrooms.