Installation of better ventilation systems can bring down the risk of COVID-19 transmission in schools by more than 80%, according to recent research conducted by an Italian think-tank.
Coronavirus infection was analyzed in 10,441 classrooms in Italy's central Marche region, according to a study conducted by the Hume foundation research tank, per Reuters report.
COVID-19 cases were significantly reduced in the 316 classrooms with mechanical ventilation systems, reducing cases varying depending on the system's strength.
Infections were reduced by 40% using applications that guaranteed a complete replacement of the air in a classroom 2.4 times per hour. According to the study, they were reduced by 66.8% with four air replacements per hour and by 82.5 percent with six air replacements per hour.
Mechanical ventilation is not installed in the majority of Italian schools. Instead, teachers are encouraged to keep windows open when the weather permits.
The Hume foundation and the Marche regional administration noted in a press release that if the most efficient systems were installed, "we could go from 250 instances per 100,000 kids (the education ministry's alert threshold) to a rate of 50 cases per 100,000."
The research was conducted between September 2021 and January of the current year.
Italy COVID-19 Cases Up Again
COVID-19 cases in Italy increased rapidly in December and early January. Then it declined from mid-January until early March. However, the number of infections increases again due to the Omicron variant, which is more contagious. Data also indicate that new hospitalizations and deaths are dropping.
Since the pandemic began in February 2020, the country has recorded 157,904 deaths due to COVID-19, the second-highest number of fatalities in Europe after the United Kingdom and the eighth-highest worldwide. To date, it has reported 13.89 million instances.
According to an ABC News report, 89.7% of the country's over-12 population is fully vaccinated.
The health ministry reported 32,573 new cases on Monday, up from 60,415 a day before and 119 deaths, a rise from 93 recorded the previous day.
Increasing COVID-19 Cases In Other European Countries
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that COVID-19 cases are increasing in 18 out of 53 countries in its European region.
According to WHO Europe director Hans Kluge, the rise in cases is possibly due to the BA2 variant, which is more transmissible but less dangerous than other strains of the virus.
However, as per France 24, the health official said in a media conference in Moldova that he was "optimistic but vigilant" on the situation.
Kluge said that the countries that saw an increase are "the United Kingdom, Ireland, Greece, Cyprus, France, Italy, and Germany." He added that the mentioned nations are relaxing their restrictions "from too much to too few."
WHO database indicates that the new COVID-19 cases in Europe abruptly declined following a peak at the end of January. Though, since early March, the numbers have been climbing.
In the last seven days, over 5.1 million new cases and 12,496 deaths have been reported in the WHO's European region. This puts the total number of infections to about 194.4 million and the number of fatalities to 1.92 million since the pandemic started in early 2020.
Related Article : COVID-19 Infection Raises Likelihood of Developing Type 2 Diabetes, New Research Found in Review of Patient Records
