Millions of children have started to return to school across Britain with new air and virus testing regimes aimed at preventing an explosion of cases among the least vaccinated section of the population.
The UK government will spend £25 million ($34.5m) supplying 300,0000 carbon dioxide monitors in England from this month to assess the air circulating in classrooms as part of an attempt to understand and limit classroom infections.
A similar measure has been announced in Wales after a surge in Covid-19 cases in Scotland, where pupils have already returned to the classroom. “We expect most schools to have exceptionally good ventilation,” UK Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said on Thursday.
He declined to say how many monitors had been delivered and did not exclude the possibility of some lessons and assemblies taking place outside during colder months in the event of coronavirus outbreaks in schools.
“It’s not something we would be expected to see an awful lot, especially in the autumn and winter,” he told the BBC.
Teaching organisations said many schools were unlikely to see the testing devices until the end of October.
Some schools complained that they had classrooms where windows could not be opened. Geoff Barton, head of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the devices merely detected whether there was a ventilation problem and did nothing to solve it.
“In truth, this equipment should have been in place ready for the start of the autumn term, and arguably a lot earlier in the crisis, but it is a case of better late than never,” he said.
Researcher Dr Rajesh Bhagat, of the University of Cambridge, said on Thursday that scientific studies showed that poor indoor air quality affected learning.
The outbreak of the viral respiratory disease SARs in China in 2003 highlighted the issue of indoor transmission but countries have been slow to learn its lessons, said the researcher.
Dr Bhagat said research had picked up in the past five years because of the growing awareness that indoor air quality was vital to health.
Previous studies for the airline sector had revealed the importance of air filtration systems, which could be retrofitted in the worst-affected schools. The UK has also launched a trial of air purifiers in 30 schools in Bradford to see if they will reduce the risk of transmission.
Dr Bhagat, who is currently involved in field studies in schools, was involved in a study by a team from Cambridge last year that found good ventilation and mask-wearing reduced the threat of transmission inside buildings. Wearing masks is not recommended under the current return-to-school measures.
But the study suggested that efforts to reduce energy consumption and keep temperatures comfortable during a new era of climate change and global warming could be in conflict with efforts to prevent Covid-19 transmission.
The pandemic has underscored the tension between energy efficiency and opening windows wide for good ventilation.
“The CO2 sensors will give us some idea where it’s better or worse and where some interventions will be implemented in time,” he said. “The pandemic has shown one thing – that we know less than what we need to know to solve these problems.”
The carbon dioxide monitors will allow schools to measure exhaled air and pinpoint where there are high levels of carbon dioxide concentration – and insufficient ventilation.
Airflow relies on a complex combination of vents, windows and doors and the heat and movement produced by people inside the rooms.
The monitors are only one solution being lined up by authorities in the UK to limit school-based infections. The Welsh government announced it would spend £3m on new ozone machines to disinfect classrooms but said it would look at early trials before going ahead.
The return to schools after the summer break will be accompanied by a testing programme for pupils and staff. The main difference will be if a child tests positive for Covid-19, their classmates will not be sent home as a precaution.
Schools and colleagues are being encouraged to increase hygiene and ventilation. Health officials are preparing to offer vaccines to all children aged 12 to 15 in England from this month if the move is approved by a scientific advisory group.
The years Ramadan fell in May
The years Ramadan fell in May
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
Profile of Udrive
Date started: March 2016
Founder: Hasib Khan
Based: Dubai
Employees: 40
Amount raised (to date): $3.25m – $750,000 seed funding in 2017 and a Seed round of $2.5m last year. Raised $1.3m from Eureeca investors in January 2021 as part of a Series A round with a $5m target.
What drives subscription retailing?
Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.
The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.
The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.
The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.
UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.
That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.
Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Omar Yabroudi's factfile
Born: October 20, 1989, Sharjah
Education: Bachelor of Science and Football, Liverpool John Moores University
2010: Accrington Stanley FC, internship
2010-2012: Crystal Palace, performance analyst with U-18 academy
2012-2015: Barnet FC, first-team performance analyst/head of recruitment
2015-2017: Nottingham Forest, head of recruitment
2018-present: Crystal Palace, player recruitment manager
