last year we have repeatedly asked the government to ensure that there is proper ventilation in schools. We know a lot more about Covid now than we did [at the start]. When the pandemic started, it was believed that it was largely transmitted through touch…we now know it is largely an airborne disease. We know that children do get Covid and spread it, and we know that some of them will get “long Covid” and will suffer from that disease, and we know that the Delta variant is much more transmissive, and more virulent, than the previous versions. So, I am concerned that all my requests for ventilation units in classrooms have been denied.”
From September the majority of Covid mitigation measures in English secondary schools will be removed with the end of bubbles, social distancing and mask wearing. The management of Covid will be largely done through lateral flow tests with pupils asked to take a test in first week of the new term, and then to take two a week until the end of the month. Any staff or pupils with a positive lateral flow test will be asked to self-isolate until they get the result of a PCR test. If it is negative, it overrides the lateral flow and the teacher, staff member or pupil can continue going to school.
When it comes to ventilation the Department for Education guidance stated that the schools should identify poorly ventilated spaces as part of a risk assessment and take steps to improve fresh air flow, and that civil servants are working with Public Health England, NHS Test and Trace and Sage on a pilot to measure CO2 levels in classrooms.
In the USA, it was announced that…
