Be air safe: HEPA filters as an air ventilation resource to minimize the spread of COVID-19 in Canadian elementary and high schools
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14288/hfjc.v14i4.353Keywords:
HEPA, COVID-19, Air Quality, Air Ventilation, Schools, WildfiresAbstract
Background: The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious and exponentially spreading virus. COVID-19 is mainly spread through personal contact and respiratory droplets such as aerosols. COVID-19 was determined to be a global pandemic on March 11 2020, which has led to the evaluation of various personal safety precautions that needed to be implemented in order to decrease the spread of COVID-19 within Canadian communities. Purpose: This literature review explored the use of High-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters that have been evaluated in recent studies to reduce the spread of aerosols within indoor spaces. Most primary and secondary schools in British Columbia (BC) reopened in September 2020 and HEPA filters were considered to potentially reduce the spread of COVID-19 in schools across the province. Methods: Aliterature review was conducted from December, 2020 to June, 2021 with research on HEPA filter efficiency in public indoor settings. Results: Adequate air quality is essential for a healthy lifestyle, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, there can be contradicting advice between the implementation and precautions to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and ability for schools to maximize classrooms air quality. As schools have reopened, it is essential to consider all possible precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 including; wearing masks, sanitizing hands, social and physical distancing, barriers between one another, and adequate air filtration systems. HEPA filters have been shown to remove at least 99.97% of all particles in the 0.15-0.2 μmrange.Conclusion: Schools must have the ability to adapt with current research on the bestpreventative strategies to fight against COVID-19 in the classroom.
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