Photo: 123rf.com / Composite Image - RNZ
NIWA air quality researchers this morning launched a project to track ventilation and assess how vulnerable communities could be better protected from Covid-19.
Improving air flow in indoor spaces is a key strategy to prevent transmission and chief executive of Hāpai Te Hau-ora - Māori Public Health, Selah Hart, says there are simple behavioural barriers to better health.
"Our communities can actually action some really practical steps to reduce transmission of infection but how do we make people aware that air quality remains really good in their residence or centres so we can reduce those infection rates and keep our whanau out of hospital."
The NIWA team will visit four locations and use CO2 measurements to calculate ventilation levels. The transmission risk team will visit four locations throughout November.
"Where there are high Māori and Pacific populations, so that's such as early childhood centres, marae, churches, aged-care facilities and other such residences."
Hart said health was integral to the togetherness of communities.
"With the ultimate goal of helping those places to reduce the infection rates we are also looking at other respiratory illnesses that can be caught especially among those groups that have a high susceptibility to becoming unwell."
Covid-19 is predominantly transmitted indoors thus improving ventilation in indoor spaces is a key strategy to prevent transmission.
Funded by the Ministry of Health, NIWA air quality researchers are carrying out research to understand ventilation behaviour and examine how well spaces used by our most vulnerable populations are, and could be, ventilated.
This New Zealand-specific research will take place in over 100 early childhood education centres, aged care facilities, marae and churches.
Fatugatiti centre manager Fa'alele Fai'ai said ventilation was a huge concern for all educational centres.
"By being involved I wanted to use the opportunity to fill gaps in our understanding and knowledge of what we need to do to ensure best practise for good ventilation and air quality in to reduce infection risk in our centre."
The NIWA crew returned today to check levels and gave Fai'ai and her team a glowing review.
"We have only been on it this week and they are really please because we have done really well just using natural measures like all doors and windows open, so nothing fancy."
Fai'ai said, after the disruptions of the pandemic, the children deserved to be in the classroom as much as possible.
"We like them here this is where they need to be to learn but we are also aware of our responsibility to make it a safe place for them."