There is also much to do about the ventilation of Dutch school buildings. In early August, experts moved into it AD ring the bell: in many schools the air quality is said to be substandard due to outdated ventilation systems. This can be problematic if the coronavirus is spread through aerosols, tiny droplets that linger in the air. There is worldwide discussion over.
Ventilate, ventilate, ventilate
Minister Slob for Primary and Secondary Education wrote on Wednesday to the House of Representatives that many schools have now checked how the ventilation of their building is doing. He calls on schools that have not yet done so to look into this in the short term.
The umbrella organizations for primary and secondary education (PO Council and VO Council) have one last week guidance published with tips for schools. Marco van Zandwijk of the Space OK knowledge center contributed to this. “The main message is: ventilate, ventilate, ventilate,” he said on Friday. “Because one thing we know for sure: we have to prevent stagnant air.”
School staff would therefore do well to open windows and doors against each other. It is better to avoid fans and portable air conditioners, because they do not refresh the air but only distribute it.
And if it soon gets colder and it is suddenly no longer attractive to open a window? “By then we will be months later and we hope to know more about the transfer of aerosols via ventilation systems”, says Van Zandwijk.
Nieuwsuur made this video about aerosols:
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