A SIMPLE, FREE IDEA TO MAKE SCHOOLS SAFE
Some parents desperately need children to go to school, other parents (sometimes the same) are desperately concerned about transmission. Anxious teachers face real risks. Fast, cheap, daily testing would solve the problem, but that isn’t in place.
What can we do? In some countries they put plastic or Plexiglas on the side of desks. Does it work?
Plexiglas is in such short supply, schools in the U.S. won’t be able to get any. The bigger problem is it won’t work. SARS CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, is mainly transmitted in aerosols. These rapidly evaporate, so they are carried by air currents.
Most room air currents rise.
1. The farther the barrier is from the student, the bigger it has to be.
2. Students are expected to sit at one desk all day, even for lunch.
3. Young people do not sit still. They need some room for movement.
This is the idea, in its simplest form:
The most basic form, with 2 x 3s and plastic wrap, clear vinyl if available, can be made by almost anyone at under $15, wholesale <$5, each.
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Aluminum costs more but looks more professional. The following shows an outline and mock-up of a barrier around a large table.
“Honey we shrunk-wrapped the kids” solutions are realistic. They don’t pretend that children can sit without moving, or won’t move their face masks to speak.
For outdoor classes, tents won’t work. They trap aerosols. Instead, use individual units.
These can be made for <$100. A construction plan:
I offer this for any school to use. Please share what you think, and if you make something.
Brian Michael Coyle
