Aerosols are extremely small, light micro-droplets that can float in the air for a long time. Lots of research over the past year has shown that the coronavirus can be transmitted by these tiny particles.
Interested in learning more about how these droplets can cause infection? This post from First10EM explains this kind of COVID-19 transmission happens, and includes links to related studies.
Two useful tools to help you maintain and monitor air quality in classrooms: a portable air cleaner purification calculator and a maximum CO2 concentration calculator, both from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
They also have a five-step guide to checking ventilation rates in classrooms (warning: you’ll need a very motivated facilities team to pull it off).
If you have double-hung windows on one side of the classroom, add baffles to the windows to direct the fresh air downward. That will encourage warm breath to rise to the ceiling and then flow back out the window. Insulating the windows in the winter also helps.
Yes, HEPA filters really do remove coronavirus from the air! These units are about 80% effective on their own, so long as they’re properly sized for the room they’re in.
SalivaDirect™has not been FDA cleared or approved. It has been authorized by the FDA under an emergency use authorization for use by authorized laboratories. The test has been authorized only for the detection of nucleic acid from SARS-CoV-2, not for any other viruses or pathogens. This test is only authorized for the duration of the declaration that circumstances exist justifying the authorization of emergency use of in vitro diagnostic tests for detection and/or diagnosis of COVID-19 under Section 564(b)(1) of the Act, 21 U.S.C. § 360bbb-3(b)(1), unless the authorization is terminated or revoked sooner.