Air filters to fight against Omicron
Air filters can help reduce the concentration of particles in the air we breathe. The municipality of Luxembourg is now embarking on this path.
At school
Air filters can help reduce the concentration of particles in the air we breathe. The municipality of Luxembourg is now embarking on this path.
(mm with Jean-Philippe SCHMIT) – Tests, the compulsory wearing of a mask and ventilation have been on the agenda for some time now in Luxembourg primary schools. Despite this, the coronavirus continues to spread. for a long time, parents’ representatives have been asking for air filters as an additional measure, and since December, a petition is circulating about it.
Such systems are already in operation in the primary schools of Bertrange and Koerich. On Friday, Alderwoman Colette Mart (DP), the school delegate for the City of Luxembourg, also confirmed that it had been decided to equip the approximately 400 classrooms in the municipality of Luxembourg with mobile filtration systems.
Wait for a container to free up
131 air filtration systems have already been ordered last year, they will be used in schools in the capital. No vaccine is yet authorized for Cycle 1 students, who are exempt from the obligation to wear a mask. The only solution is to ventilate – and use air purifiers. Colette Mart attends the delivery of the first 131 devices for the end of February. These are said to be in a warehouse in China for the moment, waiting for a container to become free before undertaking the long journey to Luxembourg. “The pandemic is causing logistical problems all over the world”, explains the alderman of the city of Luxembourg.
On Friday, the council of aldermen of the city of Luxembourg agreed to order 295 additional air filters. In the future, there will therefore be one in each room where there are pupils in basic education. Five air filters are kept in reserve.
The devices already ordered are a model designed for professional use, sufficient to filter the air of rooms with an area of up to 150 square meters. The manufacturer’s recommended price is 1,199 euros. During the first delivery, the price was revised slightly downwards. Each device costs 962 euros. Air filters for primary schools in the capital will therefore cost almost 400,000 euros in total.
Already settled in Bertrange since 2020
The municipality of Bertrange made the decision to buy air filters at the start of the pandemic. The first devices have been installed in classrooms since November 2020. “We had asked ourselves the question of how we could protect children and staff with additional measures”, explains Monique Smit-Thijs, president of the school board and new mayor of Bertrange from 1 March.
Mobile air filters have been installed in classes in Bertrange for more than a year.
Photo: Marc Wilwert
Today, there are no less than two role models in every classroom. Despite everything, screening tests which turned out to be positive took place in the schools of Bertrange. The future mayor cannot say whether the air filters have been able to curb the spread of the virus so far because several other factors come into play. It’s also unclear what would have happened without the air filters.
Ventilation reaches its limits
Because ventilation alone is not enough to break the wave. “It is especially in winter that it is difficult to ventilate permanently”, explains the initiator of the petition, Laurent Kneip. He adds that in many schools, it is not even planned to open the windows enough to allow a brief ventilation. “Most of the time, there is only one tilting position”, explains this father of two children in school age and lecturer.
For a long time, all classrooms in the country have been equipped with CO2 measuring devices. “When the ambient air contains 1,000 ppm (parts per million) of Co2, we must ventilate for 30 minutes to return to a value below 600 ppm”, explains Laurent Kneip. “If the windows are closed and the classroom is full, it only takes ten minutes to reach 1,000 ppm again.”
Black sheep among the teaching staff
Among the teaching staff there would also be black sheep who would not take the airing so lightly. “We are still far from ventilating as we should in each class,” believes Laurent Kneipp. The CO2 sensor sometimes displays values above 2000 ppm. “Despite the ventilation, there are too many viruses circulating in schools”, notes Laurent Kneip. The infection figures show this very clearly. Air filters should not replace ventilation, but complement it. The father of the family hopes that the air will prevent 20 to 40 percent of infections among the pupils.
The petitioner does not accept the argument that air filters in classrooms give teachers and students a false sense of security and then neglect to ventilate. According to him, the introduction of air filters must be accompanied by real communication in order to avoid precisely this. “Furthermore, rapid tests also cause some to believe they are falsely reassured,” objects Laurent Kneip. Because according to him, the rapid tests used in Luxembourg schools are not all reliable. In addition to tests, ventilation and masks, air filters must therefore now be part of the arsenal in the fight against the coronavirus.
Prepare for possible new waves
Laurent Kneip does not have the answer to the question of what will happen to the devices targeted after the end of the pandemic. “I can’t imagine that after the pandemic, school will be like before again.” Air filters would not only be able to capture the coronavirus, but also the many other viruses circulating in schools. “But some experts felt that children’s immune systems should be in contact with these more harmless viruses.”
Currently, this question does not yet arise. Officials of the municipality of Luxembourg are eagerly awaiting the air filters already ordered. They will immediately pop out of the container for use. “I don’t know if they will arrive in time,” said Colette Mart. She adds that the current wave may have already subsided when the container finally arrives. “This acquisition, however, allows us to ensure that we are well equipped for a possible new wave next fall,” concludes Colette Mart.
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