CARMARTHENSHIRE council has called on the Welsh Government to approve and fund clean air technology in schools to stop the spread of Covid-19.

The call was made by Carmarthenshire councillors at their full meeting on Wednesday, September 15, after they heard that Covid-19 numbers across the county were rising and amongst the highest in Wales.

The council noted that the Delta variant is infecting children and young people at an unprecedented rate, yet schools in Wales have reopened after the summer holidays with no remedial mechanisms in place to protect pupils and staff.

Councillor Glynog Davies, cabinet member for education, said: “As it’s an airborne virus, ventilation and clean air is key in the battle against Covid-19, as recognised by the Joint Union Guide to Improving Ventilation in Schools and Colleges (Sept 2021) and the Welsh Government strategy to provide CO2 monitoring equipment. However, monitors are not a solution to poor ventilation: they just indicate that there is a problem and remedial action should be taken.”

The council noted that the ozone technology favoured by the Welsh Government, for which £3.3m funding was allocated, has been put on hold following safety concern by medical experts.

Cllr Darren Price, education scrutiny chair said: “Teaching unions, Unison, Unite and others have expressed great concern about staff safety, so I’m glad that the Welsh Government is taking steps. They may not necessarily be the most appropriate ones, but their allocation of several million pounds shows that they are ready to take responsibility for anti-Covid technology in our schools. What they must do now is consider installing alternative, proven technology to improve air quality in the classroom, which will substantially alleviate the risk of contracting and spreading the virus.”

Members were told that the HSE advises that the most suitable equipment for use in rooms with poor ventilation are Ultraviolet-based devices or High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters which are at least 99.97% efficient in filtering the virus (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention; Ventilation in Buildings; update 2 June 2021).

Having heard this, the council agreed to call on Welsh Government to urgently consider approving, tendering and funding UV-C and /or HEPA units, as recommended by the HSE and validated as being appropriate and safe for use by the WHO, The Lancet and other leading medical authorities and publications.

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “Protecting children and young people from coronavirus is a top priority for us.

"We have made significant funding available for measures to monitor ventilation in schools, colleges and universities and to reduce the risks of airborne transmission of Covid-19.

"We continue to work with our Technical Advisory Group to investigate any and all ways to improve safety in our schools.”