• Ventilation in schools, presented as a necessary tool to fight against the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic, is at the heart of the debates during this new school year.

  • Several large cities and communities have taken the lead by equipping their classrooms with these devices, before the start of the school year scheduled for Thursday, September 2.

  • "CO2 sensors can be a means of limiting the spread of the virus in an enclosed space, since they make it possible to control the ventilation of a room", explains Antoine Flahault, professor epidemiologist and director of the Institute of Global Health in Geneva, Switzerland.

A few days before the start of the school year, ventilation in schools, presented as a necessary tool to fight the Covid-19 epidemic, is at the heart of the debates. Teachers' unions and many doctors are calling for the installation of CO2 sensors (which measure the level of carbon dioxide in the air and therefore the potential saturation of viruses) and air purifiers (devices that suck the air into the air). air, and filter it by removing suspended particles) to optimize ventilation in classrooms, and thus limit the spread of the virus.

Since April, the Ministry of National Education has encouraged local communities to use these CO2 sensors in schools, and air purifiers for rooms that would be difficult to ventilate.

But they are not "central in our strategy", however explained Jean-Michel Blanquer during his press conference back to school.

"C02 sensors act like" thermometers ", the most important thing is to open the windows as often as possible (...) As for air purifiers, they are not useful in all circumstances", he added.

Are these devices, supposed to prevent and limit the spread of the virus among pupils, who are not subject to compulsory vaccination, really useful?

"I don't know if it's really effective, but it reassures families a lot"

Even if the National Education encourages communities to acquire these devices, no clear directive or financial assistance for the equipment has yet been announced. This did not prevent several large cities and communities from taking the lead in equipping their classrooms before the start of the school year, scheduled for Thursday, September 2. In Cannes (Alpes-Maritimes), the 230 classes of 32 schools “will all be equipped” with air purifiers, said Dominique Aude-Lasset, Deputy Director General (LR) at the town hall. Many schools in Ile-de-France, Rhône-Alpes and Occitanie have also acquired these devices at their own expense to control and improve the quality of the air in the classrooms.

The mayor of Alfortville (Val-de-Marne), Luc Carvounas (PS) has also equipped the primary schools in his town with it.

"We bought 52 C02 probes which began to be placed in all the refectories of the 16 schools in my town, as well as in nurseries and residences for the elderly, at a cost of 6,000 euros", explains the councilor at

20 Minutes

.

"In some rooms, poorly arranged and very poorly ventilated, we have also equipped ourselves with 10 air purifiers, which cost more than 38,000 euros," adds Luc Carvounas.

“I don't know if these devices are really effective, we'll find out in a few weeks.

But it reassures in any case a lot the families and the citizens of my municipality.

This is a very important aspect to take into account in the management of this health crisis ”.

"They are useful because they allow you to control the ventilation of a room"

In a column signed by around thirty doctors and published on August 19 in

Le Monde

, epidemiologists, infectious disease specialists and pediatricians recommend the use of these devices.

“The prevention of transmission by aerosols remains largely insufficient (…) Windows must be opened much more frequently and the recommendation to equip establishments with CO2 detectors cannot be enough: this must be the rule.

No measure is aimed at canteens, the use of air purifiers is not even mentioned ”, deplore these doctors, who criticize the protocol put in place by the National Education.

On the scientific side, opinions are however much more divided. While some recognize the usefulness of these devices, others are much more reserved. “CO2 sensors can indeed be a means of limiting the spread of the virus in closed spaces, since they make it possible to control the ventilation of a room. Because the higher the CO2 level in a room, the higher the risk of a concentration of droplets emitted by individuals while breathing, ”explains Antoine Flahault, professor of epidemiology and director of the Institute for Global Health in Geneva, Switzerland. “This is something that we have known well in the hospital environment for several years. Air purifiers allow you to work in a closed environment. The air is sucked in and destroys the viruses ”, explains Yves Buisson,epidemiologist and member of the Academy of Medicine, in an interview with

Marianne.

The epidemiologist Catherine Hill remains very measured on the effectiveness of these devices.

“Putting air purifiers in place cannot hurt schools and the students there.

But no, that will not stem the epidemic.

Vaccinate, test very regularly: these are the only two ways to do it, ”she explained to

the Obs

.

Other doctors and scientists, who are based in particular on data from other countries, such as the United States, Germany or Italy, believe that their effectiveness has not been demonstrated to date.

The Ministry of Education has indicated that an evaluation will soon be carried out to determine the real usefulness of these devices.

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