Italian study: Improving school ventilation systems can help reduce COVID-19 cases
March 23, 2022, 8:43 am

Italian study: Improving school ventilation systems can help reduce COVID-19 cases

Covid-19-Coronavirus/Pixabay

The Xinhua reported, an Italian study released on Tuesday showed that improving school ventilation systems can help reduce COVID-19 cases among students.

The study, conducted by the Hume Foundation, an Italian think tank, involved 10,441 classrooms in Marche in central Italy, of which 316 classrooms were equipped with mechanical ventilation systems while the other 10,125 were not.

According to the study, in the 316 classrooms with mechanical ventilation systems, there were far fewer cases of COVID-19, and the number of infections reduced in step with the quality of the school's ventilation system.

Compared to levels in classrooms with no ventilation systems, COVID-19 cases were reduced by 40 percent when classroom air was completely replaced every 25 minutes.

The study showed that when the air was completely replaced every 15 minutes, cases were lower; and in cases where the air was replaced every 10 minutes, reported COVID-19 cases were much lower.

Women with face masks-COVID (File photo: Pixabay)

Most schools in Italy lack mechanical ventilation systems, according to local reports. Italy's COVID-19 safety rules require teachers to open classroom windows when feasible.

The study, carried out between September 2021 and January 2022, said that cases in schools could drop from 250 per 100,000 students to 50 per 100,000 students by installing efficient ventilation systems.

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The news came as COVID-19 infections started to rise in Italy after a lull from early February to early March. Italy recorded 96,365 new cases Tuesday, the highest daily new cases since Feb. 8.

Source: xinhua

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.