Coronavirus
Technology Solutions
Wildfires Result in Toxic Indoor Air
Many
Jurisdictions
Now Require
Vaccines and or
Masks
to Enter
Local Mask
Mandates are
Popping Back Up
Across Texas
Louisiana
Requires Masks
Indoors
Masks Required
at Two Indiana
Universities
People in India
are not Making
Proper Use of
Masks
Crisis in
Southern Florida
Hospitals
Good Masks
Reduce Risk by
Up to 96%
Virginia Schools
to Spend $240
Million More for
HVAC
Why be Concerned
About Indoor Air
Quality?
______________________________________________________________________________
Wildfires Result in Toxic Indoor Air
While wildfires are an annual
occurrence all
over the world,
destroying
natural wonders
and causing
deforestation,
they also result
in vast amounts
of pollutants
into the air.
The biggest
health threat from
smoke comes from
fine particles.
Forest fires
generally cause
particles of
less than 1
micrometers –
also known as
PM1– that are
fine enough to
penetrate deep
into the lungs.
The Camfil.
City M includes
particulate and
molecular
filters that
deliver a
healthier indoor
environment by
removing dust,
contaminants,
odors and
harmful
particles.
In New York City Tuesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced tough new vaccination requirements. People will have to prove they’ve had the vaccine if they want to eat indoors at restaurants, workout in gyms and attend performances. The city will start enforcing the rule on Sept. 13.
In Minnesota, it seems mask mandates are changing by
the hour at
public
buildings,
businesses and
workplaces. The
wave of new mask
mandates is only
expected to
increase as
COVID cases
continue to
rise. The University of Minnesota is requiring masks for students and staff. Cub Foods and Target are now requiring masks for employees and recommending them for customers. Home Depot is requiring masks for workers and asking that customers wear masks. The manager of the St. Louis Park location said that because there is no state mask mandate, they can’t make people wear masks.
The University of St. Thomas in
St. Paul is one
of the few
places that has
implemented a
vaccine mandate.
All students and
staff starting
this fall will
have to be
vaccinated and
be ready to wear
masks. A number
of students told
WCCO Tuesday
they are against
the mandate, but
they all
declined to go
on camera. Those
who did, like
Lexi Kunze,
support the
university’s
move.
“St. Thomas is setting a really good example for other
colleges, and
I’m really proud
to be going into
a university
that’s paying
attention to the
science,” Kunze
said.
So, the advice right now is to stand by, and have a
stack of masks
at the ready as
new guidelines
are coming every
day.
Local mask
mandates are
popping back up
across Texas —
even as
Gov. Greg
Abbott has
stressed that
local officials
who try to
enforce
restrictions
aimed at
reducing spread
of COVID-19 will
be penalized.
Houston Mayor
Sylvester Turner
is the most
recent to defy
the governor’s
order. He
announced Monday
that the city’s
nearly 22,000
city employees
will be required
to mask up
inside city
buildings where
social
distancing is
not doable, such
as bathrooms,
elevators and
conference
rooms.
“The mayor has a
right and
responsibility
to ask city
employees to
wear face
coverings
indoors to help
stop the virus
from spreading,”
Mary Benton, a
Turner
spokesperson,
said to
the Houston
Chronicle. “With
the rise in the
delta variant
cases and high
numbers of
unvaccinated
individuals,
Mayor Turner is
doing what is
necessary to
keep [city]
employees
healthy.”
The seven-day average of new daily cases in Harris
County is 1,761
as of Tuesday,
compared with 59
cases in the
first week of
July.
Statewide, cases and hospitalizations for
COVID-19 have
been
skyrocketing.
This week,
hospitalizations
for people with
the virus hit
more than 7,300
— which is
roughly the
number of people
hospitalized a
year ago when
Abbott first
implemented a
statewide mask
mandate.
Abbott’s July executive order says, “no government
entity,
including a
county, city,
school district
and public
health
authority” and
“any public or
private entity
that is
receiving or
will receive
public funds”
can enforce mask
or vaccine
mandates.
Offenses could
lead to fines up
to $1,000.
Private
businesses,
however, still
have the right
to require
customers and
employees to
wear masks.
President Joe Biden called Abbott’s ban on masks
and vaccine
mandates “the
most extreme” of
its kind across
the country in a
statement
Tuesday, noting
that six other
states have
imposed similar
restrictions.
Louisianans five years and older are once again
required to wear
a mask indoors,
regardless of
vaccination
status.
Face masks that properly cover the wearer’s mouth
and nose should
be worn indoors
at all times,
unless a person
is in a home,
officials said.
Gov. John Bel Edwards reissued the statewide mask
mandate amid an
unprecedented
surge
of COVID-19 cases
and
hospitalizations
as the delta
variant
continues to
rapidly spread.
The mandate will be in place at least until Sept.
1., the governor
said.
Mask-wearing is required for everyone five years and
older. Children
younger than
five who are
enrolled in
kindergarten are
required to wear
one as well.
The Louisiana Department of Health recommends children
two to four
years old wear a
mask even though
it is not
required.
The exemptions are:
Where do you
have to wear a
mask?
Masks are
required at all
indoor public
places in
Louisiana
including:
Businesses that
fail to enforce
the mask mandate
could be subject
to
citations, according
to the
governor’s
proclamation.
Why was the mask
mandate reissued?
The increased
caseload and
hospitalizations,
most of which
involve
unvaccinated
patients, caused
by the variant
have put a
strain on
hospitals across
Louisiana and
facilities are
reporting
staffing
shortages.
Doctors and
hospital CEOs
joined Edwards
in the
announcement
Monday, pleading
for the public
to wear masks to
help slow the
spread.
On Tuesday,
there were
a record-breaking
2,112 total
coronavirus
patients in
hospitals across
the state along
with 3,783 more
confirmed cases
and 53 more
confirmed
deaths.
Masks will once again be required on the campuses of
Ball State and
Indiana
University to
start the new
school year.
Indiana University announced masks will be required
indoors for all
campuses
beginning
Thursday,
including IU
Fort Wayne. In a
tweet, the
university says
this is a
time-limited
recommendation,
with possible
changes being
considered based
on local
coronavirus
data.
Ball State’s
mask mandate
will go into
effect Monday,
Aug. 9.
University
President
Geoffrey Mearns
announced the
decision in a letter on Wednesday morning.
“I believe this modification to our current mask
protocol will
enable us this
Fall semester to
sustain the
vibrant
on-campus
experience that
we all value so
much,” wrote
Mearns.
This mask mandate could be removed based on several
factors, such as
the number of
new coronavirus
cases and the
number of fully
vaccinated
students and
staff.
Ball State’s decision to mandate masks once again
comes as
coronavirus
cases continue
to surge due to
the delta
variant.
Ball State students begin the new school year on
Monday, Aug. 23.
A survey, spread
over 18 cities
was initiated by
ApnaMask, an
initiative by
EkDesh, to
understand
overall
compliance
around wearing
masks, shows
what was
suspected all
along -- 90%
aware but only
44% of India is
wearing a face
mask.
Among the hundreds at the Summer House Cafe, a
popular
nightspot in
India’s capital
city, was
Srishtii Guptaa,
a 29-year-old
graduate student
who said she
lost several
family members
to Covid-19 in
April and May.
“Life goes on,” said Ms. Guptaa, who resumed her
busy social life
as soon as
lockdown
restrictions
were lifted.
“Nothing stops
me from
partying.”
For some
Indians, life
has already
returned to
normal after
a devastating
spring surge. In
New Delhi and
other cities
across the
country,
shoppers are
once again
crowding stores,
diners are
squeezing into
restaurants, and
bars are hosting
crowds of
revelers. Many
have already
abandoned safety
precautions such
as social
distancing and
wearing a mask.
A South
Florida hospital
chain is
suspending
elective
surgeries and
putting beds in
conference
rooms, an
auditorium and
even a cafeteria
as many more
patients seek
treatment for
Covid-19.
New research
shows
that
transmission of
the virus can be
reduced by up to
96.5 percent if
both an infected
individual and
an uninfected
individual wear
tightly fitted
surgical masks
or a
cloth-and-surgical-mask
combination.
Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, director of the
C.D.C.,
announced the
findings during
a White House
coronavirus
briefing, and
coupled them
with a plea for
Americans to
wear “a
well-fitting
mask” that has
two or more
layers.
President Biden
had challenged
Americans to wear masks for the first 100 days of his presidency, and Dr.
Walensky said
that masks were
especially
crucial given
the concern
about new
variants
circulating.
“With cases
hospitalizations
and deaths still
very high, now
is not the time
to roll back
mask
requirements,”
she said,
adding, “The
bottom line is
this: Masks
work, and they
work when they
have a good fit
and are worn
correctly.”
Gov. Ralph Northam is proposing Virginia
give schools
another $250
million in
federal pandemic
relief money to
help pay for
heating and air
conditioning
upgrades.
The General Assembly, which must sign off
on the
governor’s
proposals, will
consider this
plan and others
on how to spend
stimulus
payments in a
special session
that starts next
Monday. The
state expects
more than $4.3
billion through
the American
Rescue Plan.
The state’s boost would be matched by
local districts,
which would
spend $250
million of their
own stimulus
funding toward
HVAC projects to
get the state
funding, for a
total $500
million
investment in
schools’ heating
and cooling
systems.
“This investment will help families,
educators, and
students feel
more confident
about the
quality of the
air they breathe
as we return to
in-person
learning five
days a week this
fall,” Northam
said in a news
release Monday
announcing the
proposal.
The federal legislation, which Congress
passed in March,
gives Virginia
wide discretion
on how to spend
the money,
though it can’t
use it to cut
taxes.
Northam already has advanced a pair of
proposals,
including
spending $700
million on
internet access
and $353
million on small
business relief
programs. He and
other Democrats
in control of
the legislature
are expected to
highlight more
proposals this
week.
The governor’s proposal would distribute
funds based on
enrollment, with
every district
getting at least
$200,000. The
money would
reimburse
schools as they
finish projects.
Districts have more than $600 million
worth of HVAC
repairs and
replacements
planned in
coming years,
according to
numbers compiled
by the Virginia
Department of
Education earlier
this year.
Local and state officials have talked for
months about
using federal
relief funds for
school
construction
一 a pressing need long before the pandemic.
Virginia’s
public schools
are badly aging
— more than half
are over 50
years old,
according to a
VDOE report
given to a
General Assembly
commission
investigating
school
construction
funding, and
about 41% of
schools are at
or over
capacity.
This fiscal year alone, Virginia schools
will spend about
$1.1 billion on
construction
with almost no
state funding.
Schools already have received billions in
previous rounds
of pandemic
relief payments,
but the money
came with
restrictions
that make it
almost
impossible to
use it for new
schools or major
expansions. That
money has to be
spent by 2024,
giving school
divisions too
little time to
carry out large
construction
projects.
HVAC renovations don’t take as long.
Improving
ventilation is
also a way to
mitigate the
spread of
COVID-19 in
schools, making
spending relief
money on HVAC
units attractive
to public
officials.
When schools
across the
country broke
for summer
vacation after a
difficult year
of hybrid remote
and in-person
instruction,
leaders and
educators had
the opportunity
to chart a new
course before
schools reopen
in the fall. As
we consider
potential
improvements to
our school
buildings, we
should start
with the most
basic thing our
children, and
all people, need
to thrive—clean
air to breathe.
The first reason
is that studies
show, and CDC
infection
control
guidelines
confirm,
diseases can
spread faster
when air quality
is
compromised—as
the last year
painfully
proved. During
the pandemic,
many schools
switched to
remote learning
due to the
unknowns related
to the virus and
because many
found it hard to
provide
well-ventilated
spaces that were
safe for
students and
teachers. With
schools
buildings shut
down, teachers
struggled to
connect with
some students,
children missed
out on the
social and
emotional
development
fostered by peer
interaction, and
parents and
caretakers
juggled an
impossible load
of work and
homeschooling—keeping
many out of the
workplace and
prolonging
economic pain.
Second, poor air
quality can
affect students’
health and their
ability to learn
in subtle, but
nonetheless
detrimental,
ways. Studies have
shown that poor
IAQ can
contribute to
building
occupants
experiencing
symptoms related
to asthma,
fatigue,
irritation and
headaches. Poor
air quality may
prevent students
from focusing in
class—or
sometimes from
attending at
all. In hopeful
news, multiple
studies link increased
ventilation
rates to
improved student
performance.
That said, the Lancet COVID-19
Commission recently
reported that
American schools
are still
“chronically
under-ventilated,”
with 87 in 100
classrooms
failing to meet
recommended
minimum
standards.
Since so many
schools rely on
local property
taxes to fund
upgrades,
facilities in
high-poverty
districts
are more
likely to be
outdated,
disproportionately
saddling
low-income and
minority
students with
additional
barriers to
educational
success.
Providing
healthier air
for all is both
an issue of
well-being and
social justice.
Students aren’t
the only ones
affected by the
air in schools,
either. Millions
of educators,
administrators,
custodial
workers,
volunteers and
parents spend
time in and
around
classrooms. Some
even report to
be sickened by
poor air
quality. It’s no
coincidence that
those teachers’
headaches went
away after they
moved to a new
building with
improved
ventilation and
healthier
materials; much
of our aging
school
infrastructure
is simply no
longer doing its
job of providing
healthier
environments
conducive for
teaching and
learning.
Fortunately, we
now have a vital
opportunity to
fix this
problem. The
federal
government’s
COVID-19 relief
measures
have allocated more
than $122
billion to K-12
schools across
America, and a
portion of that
can—and
should—be used
for critical
facility
upgrades
that improve
indoor air
quality. It’s
encouraging to
see school
boards and
communities
prioritizing
safer and
healthier
learning
environments as
they spend
federal dollars.
For instance,
COVID-19
mitigation plans
have been a
helpful impetus
for school
administrators
to implement the
most recent CDC school
ventilation
guidelines,
like refreshing
indoor spaces
with outside
air, optimizing
HVAC systems and
replacing and
upgrading
filters. Air
quality audits can
also inform if
more extensive
upgrades need to
be performed,
which can be
done less
invasively over
the summer.
By combining
government
funding,
on-the-ground
knowledge of
individual
schools and
districts, the
influence of
NGOs and
educational
associations,
and the
innovation of
manufacturers,
improved
learning
environments are
within our
grasp. The
technology and
capability
exist;
collective
action at the
community level
must follow.
Many schools are
answering the
call, and some
are going one
step further: in
adopting an
even-more
comprehensive
approach. For
example, Fairfax
County,
Virginia, public
schools recently
deployed new air
quality
management
policies,
emergency
preparedness
procedures,
cleaning
protocols and
other changes
to earn a WELL
Health-Safety
Rating—an
evidence-based,
third-party
verified rating
that ensures
organizations
are using best
practices to
support the
safety and
well-being of
their people.
Too often, poor
air quality in
schools is as
invisible to us
as the air
itself. But the
past year has
shined a
much-needed
spotlight on the
problem. We
should take this
opportunity to
invest in better
air—and, in
doing so, invest
in the improved
performance and
well-being of
students,
teachers and
communities.
IQAir, a
Swiss-based air
quality
technology
company
explains going
back to the
classroom can
face your family
and your child
with a great
deal of
uncertainty.
In addition to COVID-19, many schools
experience major
indoor air
quality issues.
Older school facilities are especially a
problem, as many
have fallen into
disrepair and
are built of old
materials that
can pose a huge
air quality
risk.
Even newer school facilities can be
problematic,
using building
materials and
indoor
furnishings
that offgas
formaldehyde and
chemicals into
indoor air.
No matter the age or state of repair of
your school,
indoor air can
be filled with
pollutants from
numerous indoor
and outdoor
sources,
including:
·
dust
·
pollen from
plants and trees
that seeps
indoors
·
mold growing in
moist areas
·
particulate
matter from
vehicle
pollution and
factory
emissions
·
bacteria growing
on dirty
surfaces
·
virus material
that can survive
on some surfaces
for up to 72
hours
·
gases from
appliances like
stoves, oven,
and stovetop
burners
·
chemicals used
in household
cleaners
·
pet dander
If left
uncontrolled,
indoor air
pollutants can
have two major
effects on your
child’s
learning.
First, many indoor air pollutants can
trigger
allergies and
asthma. Mold and
dampness alone
can increase
episodes of
severe allergy
and asthma
symptoms by up
to 50%.
·
a 1993 study
suggested that asthma
is linked to
physical and
psychological
effects that can
make it harder
for children to
perform on
school work
·
a 2016 study in
Norway found
that minor
increases in
pollen levels
can reduce
individual test
scores up to
2.5%, with
decreases even
higher for
students with
pollen allergies
·
a 2017 study in
Sweden found
that common
pollutants like
pet dander and
dust from
cleaning can
worsen asthma
symptoms and
increase anxiety about
symptoms in
children that
causes them to
lose focus on
school
·
a 2019 study
illustrated a link
between missing
school because
of asthma and
poor learning
outcomes that
get worse as you
get older,
especially if
you live in
dense, urban
areas with high
levels of
pollution
Second, indoor
air pollution
can put stress
on your child’s
brain that
limits their
cognitive
function and
ability to
focus.
Here are some
recent studies
that link indoor
air quality and
learning
outcomes:
·
a 2018 study
found that ultrafine
particles (UFPs)
from smoke and
car exhaust can
go straight into
your central
nervous system,
causing brain
damage
throughout your
life
·
a 2018 study
using air
quality data in
China found
that minor
changes in
particulate
pollution levels
can drastically
impact verbal
and math scores in
children over
10, with verbal
tests affected
significantly
more than math
tests
·
a 2018 review
suggests that air
pollution causes
children to be
born with lower
IQs, and
certain
pollutants cause
specific
cognitive
impairments: for
example, PM2.5
lowers verbal
learning, while
nitrogen dioxide
(NO2)
lowers
short-term
memory
·
a 2019 study
found that short-term
exposure to
PM2.5 from
common indoor
sources like
candles can
significantly
reduce cognitive
performance on
tests involving
memory,
attention, and
language
Indoor air
pollution,
especially
PM2.5, can also
cause immune
system responses
that make your
child more
susceptible to
bacterial and
viral
infections,
including
COVID-19.
The takeaway
Millions of
children and
teachers going
back into
classrooms
following an
unprecedented
global pandemic
may not know
exactly what to
expect.
Take
precautions to
help keep your
child safe,
healthy, and
focused on their
learning in the
classroom.
Work with your
child’s teachers
and other
parents to
decide how best
to help protect
your child and
ensure their
ongoing success.
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