TORONTO – There are just over three weeks left before the start of the new school year. Another year that will begin with the specter of the pandemic. Just in view of the return to school of the boys, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), illustrated at Highland Heights Junior Public School how it is preparing in terms of ventilation and safety measures. The Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB), on the other hand, has so far not made public any measures that will be adopted from September in its schools. Parents who have decided to let their children attend school in the presence of their children are still in the dark. As are students and teachers.
The public school board, it must be recognized, has at least illustrated which ventilation systems will be implemented in all classrooms, gyms and shared spaces of the TDSB to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.
A device that will be installed in each classroom is a fan that brings fresh air from the outside. “The fans bring fresh air from the outside and bring it inside so that there is a kind of replacement in the classroom – said the manager of the services of the structure and planning with the TDSB Maïa Puccetti – the air constantly circulates in the classroom”.
But that’s not all. High efficiency air particulate filters (HEPA) will also be presentin classrooms, prefabricated buildings and rooms of all TDSB schools. “Filters can be usedup to 1,500 square feet, but most TDSB classrooms have an area of about 750 square feet,” Puccetti said, “they don’t serve to ventilate the premises. Their function is to ensure that the air circulating through these HEPA filters is cleaned of particulates and put back into circulation,” he said.
The difference between the two systems is that the fans supply air and are part ofthe school’s mechanical system, while the HEPA filters are independent units that remove particulate matter from the air.
In recent years, the TDSB has also installed cooling centers in older school gyms without central air conditioning.
The TDSB said it is placing $100 million in ventilation-related investments in its schools this year, as health officials said better ventilation will help reduce transmission of the virus.
As science continues to show that the coronavirus can be present in the form of aerosol particles in poorly ventilated spaces for hours, ventilation has become a key tool in the fight against Covid-19.
The province said it will ensure that all classrooms, gyms, libraries and other educational spaces without mechanical ventilation have HEPA filtering units before the children return in September.
Precisely to improve ventilation systems in schools before their reopening last week, the provincial government announced an additional allocation of 25 million dollars.
Meanwhile, Highland Heights principal Zorina Alli said she is confident that parents and health workers will be satisfied with the way the TDSB implements measures for efficient ventilation in her buildings.
