in recent weeks, quebec education minister jean-françois roberge has insisted schools are now safer than they’ve ever been during the pandemic .
the devices do not improve air quality but can be used to gauge whether a room is well or poorly ventilated. since covid-19 can spread through the air, they’ve also been used as covid risk assessment tools .
the quebec education department, for its part, says that its “target” is for all classrooms to have a daily average concentration of less than 1,000 ppm, but it considers a weekly average of under 1,500 ppm a sign of “satisfactory air quality” – a benchmark experts have argued is much too high.
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with that in mind — and as more people will head indoors once the fall approaches — the montreal gazette visited several everyday places over the last week to see how co2 levels compared to those measured in quebec classrooms .
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the work has included calibrating ventilation systems, installing air exchangers and replacing or adding windows to ensure more can be opened. unlike other jurisdictions, quebec has opted not to add air purifiers to classrooms .
olivier drouin, a montreal-area father who has compiled covid-19 data in schools, began asking teachers to submit co2 readings from their classrooms last january.
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