Ottawa Catholic School Board getting 1,600 more HEPA air filtration systems by end of school year
Posted Mar 17, 2022 07:08:00 PM.
With mask mandates lifting in Ontario in schools as of Monday, March 21, it doesn’t mean the Ottawa Catholic School Board (OCSB) will stop their efforts to keep students and staff safe.
In fact, the board will be implanting about 1,600 new HEPA units, which will be installed in each classroom, before the end of the school year.
Speaking to Cormac Mac Sweeney on The Sam Laprade Show on Thursday, March 17, Tom D’Amico, director of education at the OCSB, said that while the installation of all units is expected to be completed by the end of the year, the school is still meeting healthy air filtration guidelines set out by the province.
“We continue with our increased inspections, we have also increased the frequency of filter changes and many of our systems have rooftop units that are continuing to be adding that peak efficiency that’s needed in our schools,” D’Amico said. “We had about 1,200 HEPA units in our schools since September — that was in our isolation rooms, our special education rooms, kindergarten classes, lunch rooms and music rooms.”
And since all measures will be lifted, OCSB schools will resume activities such as fundraising, volunteering, excursions, open houses, art performances and spectator sports, “thoughtfully and gradually,” the OCSB says on its website.
Masks will also be optional when students return to class
“I do anticipate that many of our staff and students will continue to wear masks,” he said. “We’ll see what happens on the first day back.”
However, masks must be worn in all public spaces for 14 days if a staff or student returns from travel outside of Canada, including the U.S.
Hand sanitizers will also remain throughout the schools, as well as enhanced cleaning measures.
