The Lester B. Pearson School Board has decided to move ahead and order half a million dollars’ worth of air purification and filtration equipment after Canada acknowledged the coronavirus can be transmitted through aerosol droplets.
“We felt with (Canada’s chief public health officer) Theresa Tam and the Canadian government saying, ‘Yes, it’s spread by aerosols’…. we thought it was time to purchase our air purifiers,” said Carol Heffernan, the assistant director-general of the LBPSB.
The board struck a task force to study the issue of ventilation in its almost 60 buildings in August. Heffernan said that while the Quebec government offered some advice, the board did much of its research on its own.
“The government has given us some information, but we chose to go and do more digging,” Heffernan said. “Just with the cold weather coming on, we decided we had to go and buy the HEPA air purifiers right away.”
Heffernan said the government will likely compensate half the cost of the purifiers, but the board is hopeful more will be covered.
This week the Quebec government admitted it was slow to act on the issue of ventilation in Quebec schools amid the coronavirus pandemic. To date, many Quebec schools have been following sanitation protocols and simply opening windows to improve ventilation. The government has struck a committee to study the issue.
The slow-moving response of the government is a surprise to Simon Labreque, the vice-president of product development at Industrie Orkan, one of Quebec’s leading suppliers of air purification systems.
Since the pandemic started, Orkan has sold thousands of air filtration units to schools in China. In the spring it also sold several hundred units to Quebec hospitals and CHSLDs. But it has sold virtually no units to Quebec public schools.
“It’s shocking for us since we are promoting all this technology around the world,” Labrecque said. “We are the world leader in that technology so we are feeling sad that Quebec is not even benefiting from this.”
Labrecque said his units sell from around $500 to $2,000. He said most Quebec classrooms would benefit from units that would cost around $1,000. He said heating costs will go through the roof if classrooms simply continue to open windows to improve air circulation in the winter.
“I don’t understand why it’s not mandatory that the government requests that every school has this kind of equipment,” he said. “The schools are quiet, and they are waiting for a government guideline about what they should order.”
The English Montreal School Board admitted as much in a statement this week.
“We are waiting for an announcement from the Ministry of Education and the recommendations from Sante Publique regarding the purchase and installation of air purifiers in our school and centre buildings,” said EMSB chair Joe Ortona. “Until then, we will continue to use our mechanical or natural ventilation systems.”
Medical experts say proper ventilation is especially important, now that it’s known COVID-19 can be spread through the air.
MUHC infectious disease specialist Dr. Donald Vinh said it’s unrealistic to think all Quebec schools can be outfitted with improved ventilation systems quickly. He said in the meantime, older buildings in areas with high transmission rates should be prioritized.
“What we have to consider looking at is looking at the schools that are the highest priority now,” Vinh said, “the ones that are the most in need either because of their ventilation system isn’t sufficient and/or because of the capacity of the school in terms of the numbers of teachers and students.”
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