Coronavirus Technology Solutions
December 8, 2020

New Mexico Converting Only Some Schools From MERV 10 to 13

Foster Farms Closes Poultry Plant in California Due to 193 Cases

JBS Protecting Older Workers Due to New Outbreak

Meat Processors Should Consider the Cleanrooms International FFU Rather Than Partitions

Purar Offers Reusable Mask with Unique Features

M+H Air Purifier Used at Schools

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New Mexico Converting Only Some Schools From MERV 10 to 13

Due to  COVID-19 New Mexico public health guidelines have changed the way many systems function; public schools have changed their entire learning model. Schools try to keep up with state guidelines, including air filter regulations which pressure schools to quickly accommodate.

As with many guidelines for COVID-safe practices, the air filter requirements changed over time. Initially, the New Mexico Public Education Department required a MERV 9 or higher in all schools. In September, however, that requirement changed to a MERV 13 to match advisory from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.

MERV 13 filters are more effective in removing viral particles from the air, helping to limit the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which causes the COVID-19 disease.

A MERV 8 or MERV 9 is standard for most public schools, according to Gabe Jacquez, deputy superintendent of operations for Las Cruces Public Schools.

Due to reports that MERV 13 filters wear down ventilation systems and would cost much more to schools whose budgets are already tight with accommodations made for COVID-19 in other areas, NMPED also allows the highest MERV filter that the system is compatible with.

Jacquez said the district will be getting a shipment of MERV 13 air filters in mid-November. Currently, LCPS has MERV 8 filters installed districtwide. But MERV 13 — which is a better filter — is now required by the NMPED.

LCPS ordered MERV 13 filters in mid-September, when the new requirement was announced by NMPED. But the delivery date has been pushed back, due to high demand for the air filtration systems across the country.

Jacquez explained that the manufacturing of filters is being slowed by the shortage for the filtering media that makes up the MERV 13.

“It's affected many districts who run typically a (MERV 8) or a (MERV 9) like we do, so everybody's asking for the same thing at the same time,” Jacquez said. “At first, it was a … two- to six-week (wait), and then they pushed it off to eight. There's really no options … pretty much you have to get in line, and as they get produced, they will get out to folk

In the meantime, LCPS has been using individual HEPA air filters, which are individual air purifiers, and opening windows and doors to improve air circulation.

The week of Oct. 19, LCPS brought a group of eight special education students to Picacho Middle School for in-person instruction to meet their needs. But the school was shut down on Oct. 22 after an employee in the school tested positive for COVID-19.

Vista Middle is currently holding in-person instruction for special education students as the district slowly introduces small special education classes back to in-person learning in different schools.

Districtwide, Hatch Valley Public Schools has had MERV 10 filters for three years, according to Jimmy Martinez, administrative assistant for HVPS's maintenance department.

Martinez said they looked into purchasing MERV 13 filters for the district, but quickly realized the filters would not be compatible with many of the systems in place.

He said their Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning systems range from 5 to 15 years old or more across the schools in HVPS.

After consulting with its vendor who manages their HVAC systems, HVPS concluded that they would not have the funds to replace all their filters.

Martinez said that not only would that higher price of the MERV 13 filters be hard to accommodate, but these filters need to be replaced more frequently — since they filter out more particles and fill up more quickly. Additionally, the filters run down the HVAC systems, which could potentially require pricey repairs.

"Quite frankly, we just don't have the funding to do what Las Cruces Public Schools do," Martinez said. "We're really glad to hear that the (MERV) 10's were okay, and we can continue using those."

Martinez said HVPS recently made an order to replace all their air filters, a routine process that happens around once a quarter. He said there have not been any shortages for MERV 10 filters.

Martinez said that the national shortage in MERV 13 filters was not the cause for the district opting to continue using MERV 10 filters. After talking with vendors, HVPS decided MERV 10 filters were the best option for the district.

HVPS Superintendent Michael Chavez said that the district is not offering in-person instruction at this time.

Before the recent spike in COVID-19 cases in Doña Ana County, HVPS was offering ancillary one-on-one instruction on a needs-basis, according to Chavez. That instruction has stopped, and Chavez said they will not be offering face-to-face instruction again until cases come down.

Gadsden Independent School District will continue to use MERV 8 and MERV 9.

GISD spokesman Luis Villalobos stated that "not all GISD systems can handle such a restrictive filter as the MERV 13. This filter, although more efficient in producing air quality, can make systems work much harder to get air through and, in turn, could (cause) wear and tear, possibly lowering the life expectancy of systems."

Villalobos said that GISD will be replacing the air filters more frequently than normal to ensure the air circulating in school buildings is clean. GISD will not be holding any in-person instruction for the remainder of the semester. 

Villalobos also stated that, due to the unavailability of MERV 13 filters because of the recent spike in demand, GISD has not been able to purchase them up to now.

Foster Farms Closes Poultry Plant in California Due to 193 Cases

Meat processor Foster Farms temporarily closed a poultry processing plant for deep cleaning following a coronavirus outbreak at the facility in Fresno, California. In the past two weeks, 193 of the 1,400 employees at the plant tested positive for COVID-19, reported the Fresno Bee.

Meanwhile, Merced County officials reported a COVID-19 outbreak at a Foster Farms plant in Livingston, 70 miles northwest of Fresno in the Central Valley. Seven workers at the Livingston plant tested positive for COVID-19, said the Bee.

Foster Farms said prevalence of COVID-19 at its plant on Cherry Street “began ramping up in early November concurrent with the acceleration of cases throughout Fresno County,” said the newspaper. The coronavirus rate at Foster Farms’ plant on Belgravia Avenue in Fresno remained below 1%, according to the company. At least two Foster Farms employees in Fresno have died of coronavirus-related complications.

When the plant on Cherry Street reopens, workers will be tested twice a week, said Foster Farms.

The Merced Sun-Star said county officials added Foster Farms to their list of workplaces with COVID-19 outbreaks last Wednesday.

“Foster Farms return to the outbreak list is notable, as the Livingston plant previously spent many weeks on the outbreak list,” said the Sun-Star. “The outbreak resulted in 92 Foster Farms employees testing positive for COVID-19, nine of whom died. The workplace outbreak was the worst in Merced County and one of the deadliest in the state, according to County Public Health officials.”

The United Food and Commercial Workers union said President-elect Joe Biden’s selection of Xavier Becerra to serve as U.S. health secretary “sends a clear message that this administration is ready to fight for our country’s frontline workers. Protecting our country’s essential workers is crucial to taking control of this pandemic and rebuilding the economy.” The UFCW represents 1.3 million food and retail workers

At least 339 workers at meat plants, food processing plants, and farms have died of COVID-19 and nearly 75,000 co-workers have had confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to data collected by FERN as of Monday at midday.

An Illinois-based meat manufacturer is suing the state of New Mexico after health officials there ordered a processing plant to close for two weeks because of a coronavirus outbreak.

In a complaint filed in U.S. District Court, Stampede Meat said it will lose millions of pounds of meat at a plant in Sunland Park, just across the state line from El Paso, Texas, and it asked a judge to throw out the order.

In court documents filed Friday, the company outlined several measures it had taken to halt the virus's spread, citing President Donald Trump's executive order April 28 invoking the Defense Production Act.

The order required meat processing plants to remain open during the pandemic.

In a letter to the company on Nov. 3, a New Mexico health official cited six positive coronavirus tests from Oct. 23 to Oct. 27 and ordered the plant to be closed for two weeks.

The New Mexico Heath Department referred questions about the suit to a spokeswoman for the state's Environment Department. The spokeswoman, Maddy Hayden, declined to discuss the suit, but she said courts have repeatedly upheld the state's authority to protect the public's health and safety.

Stampede Meat employs more than 500 workers at its Sunland Park plant. Hayden said more than 100 workers there have tested positive since the pandemic began.

Stampede did not immediately respond to a request for a comment.

The United States is having its highest single-day tallies of coronavirus infections. More than 120,000 people tested positive for the virus Thursday, according to an NBC News tally.

The Midwest and the Southwest have been hit hard. In New Mexico, the number of cases steadily rose over the last two weeks, jumping from just over 700 on Oct. 8 to 1,210 on Sunday, according to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.

Nearby El Paso has also had a surge in infections, with the number of cases nearly doubling in the last month, according to Johns Hopkins. So many people are dying in the county that six mobile morgues have been set up, with four more on the way, officials said Monday.

JBS Protecting Older Workers Due to New Outbreak

JBS USA voluntarily removed 202 workers, including those who are 60 and older, from its Greeley, Colorado, beef facility as part of its vulnerable population policy, a company spokesperson said in an email. The workers are getting full pay and benefits. 

The plant is one of the largest in the country with about 3,500 workers. The spokesman said there have been 32 cases among its Greeley plant workforce in the most recent wave of community outbreak in Weld County, where the plant is located. In recent weeks, the company said, Weld County has had more than 4,450 cases and Colorado has had more than 69,120 cases.

Across all of JBS's U.S. facilities, the spokesperson said the company has removed more than 5,000 people — roughly 8% of its workforce — with pay and benefits during the most recent wave of infections spreading across the country. To accommodate for staff reduction, JBS said it may simplify the mix of products in a plant.

As the meat industry continues to fight off coronavirus surges in communities across the country, JBS is ramping up its defensive strategy to protect the more at-risk members of its workforce. 

Early in the pandemic, meat plants became hot spots for outbreaks and many criticized the industry for responding too slowly. During the course of the pandemic, many meatpackers — including JBS, Tyson and Smithfield — have implemented precautions in plants, including temperature checks, staggered start times, required use of masks, physical barriers, UV germicidal air sanitation and plasma bipolar ionization technologies. But even with precautions, coronavirus has continued to spread. 

The original outbreak at the Greeley plant was among the worst in the industry, with six deaths and more than 290 cases as of October, according to the Greeley Tribune. In September, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited the plant with a proposed $15,615 fine for "failing to protect employees" from the coronavirus. 

JBS said it first removed vulnerable workers at the Greeley plant in late March. Some returned in August as case numbers subsided in the community. Many beef, poultry and pork plants across the country temporarily closed to stop the spread of the virus early on in the pandemic. The Greeley plant temporarily shuttered in April after urging from the local union. 

Since March, the largest meat companies in the country have spent hundreds of millions on COVID-19 precautions and tens of thousands of workers have been infected. JBS USA has invested more than $415 million into COVID-19 precautions, support and bonuses. Executives have expressed more confidence since precautions have been in place, even as the virus has surged across the country. 

"I’m pretty confident we are not going to have the size of the disruption we saw in April and May," JBS CEO Andre Nogueira said at The Wall Street Journal’s Global Food Forum in October.

As cases surged around Colorado, JBS said it partnered with the state to offer testing to its workers at a location near the Greeley plant. Many say testing has helped to slow the spread of the virus in processing plants.

"We are optimistic that this, coupled with our weekly surveillance testing and contact tracing protocols, has contributed to the low number of positive cases at our facility despite the high rate of spread in the surrounding community," the spokesman said. 

Last month, JBS USA also announced it would cover 100% of employee costs associated with COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment. That move came in addition to free COVID-19 testing, which has been available for the company’s workers since March. To date, JBS has conducted more than 20,000 random surveillance tests of asymptomatic team members, the company said. 

Amid the continued spread of the virus, the food industry is pushing for workers to be prioritized for vaccinations. Last week, the North American Meat Institute urged officials to place meat and poultry workers at the front of the line to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. JBS said the company is actively working with state and local health departments to coordinate vaccination of its workforce as soon as it becomes available.

"The meat and poultry industry was among the first sectors to be challenged with the pandemic, and since March the industry has implemented effective programs and controls to stop the spread of COVID," NAMI CEO Julie Anna Potts said in an emailed statement. "Our efforts are working, but access to vaccines remains the most critical tool to protect this critical infrastructure workforce." 

Meat Processors Should Consider the Cleanrooms International FFU Rather Than Partitions

This new fan filter unit from Cleanrooms International is just what meat processors should be installing instead of partitions.  Features of the SAM44 Fan Filter Units include:

• HEPA filter 99.99% eff. @ 0.3 micron
• Modbus interface card for speed control through BMS
• 200-277V 50/60 Hz EC motor
• CAT5 connection
• On/Off switch
• Handles
• Protective inlet screen
• Aluminum construction, mill finish
  
  

Final filter is protected with a white epoxy diamond pattern grille and are tested according to accepted procedures as described by the Institute of Environmental Sciences (IEST) and/or ISO standards.

Optional Features

• ULPA filter 99.9995% eff. @ MPPS
• BACnet MSTP or BACnet IP control via BMS
• Local control via potentiometer

Purar Offers Reusable Mask with Unique Features

Your air, your style, and you. Breathe in healthy and clean air with Purar, where the useful is separated from the harmful particles by providing all with comfortable, highly functional, and appealing face masks, while never compromising on personal style.

Having experienced Shanghai China’s long season of air pollution first hand, Purar’s co-founder, Jasmine/Xiaohua Meng, found that wearing a mask was the only way to protect yourself. As a daily mask user, she experienced the discomfort of wearing standard surgical facemasks, which make breathing harder from increased humidity, fogs up glasses, and can irritate the wearer.

With the question in mind of finding a highly protective, comfortable, and stylish alternative, Jasmine delivered the pitch to her employer, Mann+Hummel, which makes most of its billions annually from industrial air filter manufacturing; conventional car filters, to be specific. Headquartered near Stuttgart, Germany, Mann+Hummel has been looking for alternative directions to pivot into, given that the conventional car market is changing dramatically. So a few years ago, Mann+Hummel launched a startup contest called InCube, the winning idea gets you six months at a startup incubator, Plug and Play Tech Center, in California.

Purar emerged as a winning product for the 2019 contest and was formally launched in the Plug and Play’s Acceleration program in Silicon Valley, with a global team of developers working to create a mask that not only works well, but also feels like a seamless part of our wearers.

Derived from the words “Pure Air”, the facemasks are engineered by the filtration experts at Mann+Hummel to achieve the KN95’s filtration level, giving it the ability to filter more than 95% of the 0.3 micron particles. Besides being certified for KN95 standards, Purar facemasks has also passed the leakage test according to GB2626-2019.

In terms of the design, the reusable facemask includes a filter that can be replaced and a sustainable outer shell which is washable. The washable shell is crafted with an ergonomic design that is configured carefully with polygons for fitting comfortably according to your face shape. An additional feature of the mask is the neck grip that does not hurt your ears as much as ear-looped mask. This neck grip provides more convenience for wearers who use wire or wireless audio device such as headphone or AirPods or even female wearers who accessorize their ears with large chunky earrings. For those who wear glasses, the mask comes with a pre-formed nose support that helps prevent glass-fogging issues.

Each mask is available in 2 sizes (size S and L) and includes 6 stylish colors: Blue, Black, Burgundy, Grey, Pink and Mauve. A box of mask retails at USD49 and comprises of a mask shell, 2 replaceable filters (Protect Plus and Lite Comfort) and a travel pouch. Protect Plus filter is tested and certified for standard that similar to American N95 (GB2626-2019, certification KN95) to provide full protection. Whilst Lite Comfort filter provides higher air permeability than Protect Plus to provide more comfort and breathability.

Purar mask is available in 6 stylish colors: Blue, Black, Burgundy, Grey, Pink and Mauve

Purar does not stop at just offering a highly fashionable facemask to end-consumers, it goes beyond this by also offering customizable mask for B2B corporate needs.  After all, Purar’s mission is to provide people with a comfortable and fashionable accessory by leveraging the creativity of young designers to enable them to breathe cleaner air.

Customizable facemask for corporate needs

M+H Air Purifier Used at Schools

There are systems and areas within buildings where the upgrade of filtration is simply not practical. One possible solution is a portable air cleaner like the TRI-KLEEN 500UV that utilizes HEPA filtration and UV lights. These units allow for increased filtration as well as more air changes to provide a cleaner space. Place the device as close as possible to the occupants location, so they breathe the actual filtered air. The larger the distance to the unit, the higher the chance to inhale swirling contaminants which could include viruses. In addition the TRI-KLEEN 500UV has an optional exhaust grille that will allow for a flex duct to be attached and allow for the air to be exhausted to create a negative pressure in a space to allow for containment in a specific space.

Everyone from policymakers to parents wants to get students back to school, college or university. While virtual learning has temporarily filled the void left by school closures, it can't replace classroom teaching – or the mental and emotional benefits that being in school brings. But all these stakeholders also agree that schools can only be reopened safely. Parents will look to school administrators to protect their children. Educators will trust that they will be provided with a safe place to work.