It might be the middle of a Tasmanian winter, but that doesn't stop this primary school making the most of fresh outdoor air to help keep COVID at bay — something more places should be doing, experts say.
It might be the middle of a Tasmanian winter, but that doesn't stop Windermere Primary School in Hobart's northern suburbs from making the most of fresh outdoor air.Tasmanian schools are keeping windows and doors open as much as they can, despite winter weather
"Every school's been given a CO2 monitor, and we use that to check the air quality and that allows us then to determine how many windows or doors we can or [don't need to] open if the weather's particularly windy or cool," Mr Williams said."Kids are pretty resilient and they've got used to a different way of working, as have our staff, as have our community," he said.
"Ventilation is very important because by ventilation we are removing from the air particles which were generated by infectious people in the room," she said.Dr Morawska said despite its importance, "we are paying very little attention" to it generally in Australia. "We need to supplement [natural ventilation] with mechanical ventilation and better ventilation systems," she said.Deakin University Chair in Epidemiology Professor Catherine Bennett said air movement and air replacement were particularly important.
"It's that upgrading of the ventilation that we have, but also new builds and other places will now have this as part of the infrastructure."Dr Morawska takes a carbon dioxide monitor — similar to those used in Tasmanian schools — with her wherever she goes."There have been a number of places, a number of restaurants, for example, which already have good air quality," Dr Morawska said.Tasmanian Greens MLA Rosalie Woodruff is an epidemiologist.
"It can allow people with all different health vulnerabilities to be in the community together," she said.
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