Around 240 classroom CO2 monitors damaged in transit and returned to manufacturer

Monitors were sent to schools as part of efforts to ensure good ventilation to prevent the spread of Covid.

Around 240 of the C02 monitors dispatched to schools were returned to the manufacturer, with the Department of Education citing “damage in transit through the postal or courier service” as the reason in many cases.

The monitors were sent to schools for the upcoming academic year as part of efforts to ensure good ventilation in schools to prevent the spread of Covid.

According to guidance from the department, the monitors “can provide a useful general indication that areas/ rooms may not be adequately ventilated and can enable occupants to become familiar with the impact that activities, outdoor weather and window openings have on levels of good ventilation within a room”.

About 35,400 such monitors have been delivered to schools, according to statistics released by Minister for Education Norma Foley via parliamentary question.

Just over 4,000 C02 monitors were delivered to schools in Cork, with Dublin receiving the most with  8,500.

Post-primary schools received 17,215 monitors while primary schools received 16,934 and special schools received 1,328. The number that was returned due to malfunction related to less than 0.7% of units, Ms Foley said.

Michael Gillespie, the general secretary of the Teachers Union of Ireland, told the Irish Examiner that the relatively mild weather during the school year so far had made it easier to more adequately ventilate classrooms.

However, he said it may be more of an issue when the weather turns colder during the winter.

“When the weather gets cold, you might see an issue where some schools might only have 10 or 20 monitors and that’s not enough to cover the whole school,” he said. 

“It could be a situation of haves, and have-nots.” 

Last month, a school principal in Co Wexford also raised concerns around the effectiveness of C02 monitors in helping to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 in schools.

Speaking to RTÉ's News at One, Vicky Barron of the CBS primary school said 19 students in one class had tested positive and said that “we have been screaming that C02 monitors are not enough”.

In a message to parents on Sunday, Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan said he wanted to reassure parents and guardians that, as winter approaches, Nphet continues to monitor and review "the epidemiological data, the international research and guidance and to update our advice accordingly.” 

He said that in the vast majority of cases, children will only display mild symptoms or be asymptomatic.

“Child-to-child transmission is uncommon in school settings where there are preventive measures in place like those throughout our schools,” he said.