SOMERVILLE, MASS. (WHDH) - Engineers in Somerville have begun the process of inspecting ventilation systems at schools across the city as a possible return to the classroom in the fall amid the COVID-19 pandemic looms large.
7’s Caroline Goggin joined Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone and school officials on a tour of the West Somerville Neighborhood School on Thursday as engineers worked to determine whether the ventilation system is capable of keeping students, teachers, and staffers safe.
With the summer beginning to wind down, Somerville officials are evaluating what options they have with respect to safely reopening in September.
“Our goal is to ensure that we can mitigate any or as much risk as we can,” said Mary Skipper, Superintendent of Somerville Public Schools.
Somerville’s focus on proper ventilation also happens to be the focus of a new study out of the University of Minnesota, which analyzed how the coronavirus spreads in indoor settings.
In side-by-side simulations created by the university, an asymptomatic teacher was placed in a classroom below an air vent and across the room from one. Particles representing the virus spread far less in the simulation that showed the teacher directly under the vent.
“Everyone realizes that there’s a lot at stake,” said Rich Raiche, Somerville’s Infrastructure and Asset Management Director.
At the West Somerville Neighborhood School, engineer Scott Leclair uncovered air filters that are only 30 percent efficient. They will be upgraded with filters that closer to 95 percent efficient.
Leclair said most Boston-area classrooms will likely need updates to their filtration units because they were built so long ago.
The school district is currently evaluating 11 buildings and engineers say they hope to have a report on the ventilation systems finalized in the coming weeks.
The deadline for Massachusetts public school districts to submit three reopening plans amid the coronavirus pandemic is fast approaching.
The state wants schools to submit plans for in-person learning with new safety requirements, a hybrid of in-person and remote learning, and remote learning by Friday.
School leaders will have a few weeks to decide on the best model to use.
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