Education ministry says 90,000 CO2 readers to be installed in classrooms across Quebec
Classrooms throughout Quebec will be equipped with 90,000 carbon dioxide readers by the end of the year even though thousands of students have already returned to school.
The ministry of education stated in a press release Friday that the detectors are expected to be installed by the end of December 2021 in all kindergarten, elementary, high school, vocational and adult education classrooms.
CO2 readers are viewed to be a good indicator of indoor air quality. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, poor indoor air quality means virus droplets are more likely to be transmissible from person to person.
Back in July, the ministry issued a call for tenders to supply classrooms across the province with the readers with the goal of installing all of them by the end of June 2022.
The announcement on Friday means the readers, which will also be able to monitor temperature and relative humidity, will be installed six months earlier than expected, but still too late for the start of the 2021 school season.
The press release said the call for tenders was a “thorough and rigorous” process and the installation will be lead by Ali Bahloul, “a specialist in industrial ventilation and indoor air quality, and an associate professor” and researcher in the prevention of chemical, biological, mechanical and physical risks at the Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail.
Already, less than two weeks into the back-to-school season, more than 600 Quebec schools have reported cases of COVID-19, which is well over twice as many as this time last year.
Total cases in the province among kids under 10 are also soaring way above the levels from last September and the numbers are being attributed to the more transmissible Delta variant of the coronavirus.
While the numbers of cases in schools has risen significantly compared to last year, the sharp increase in pediatric cases hasn’t led to horror stories of severely sick kids.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.