The Face-shield Curtain for blocking virus transmission
while enabling communication
There are two aspects I think are important for teachers (and other adults) in the school /
classroom during COVID: the health issues specific to the classroom environment; and, the
effectiveness of communication for teachers while encumbered with cloth masks. This article
speaks to the latter:
COVID-19’s teaching challenges: 5 tips from pediatric care for teachers wearing masks
Note the idea for using a microphone to overcome mask voice muffling.
A face shield with a curtain around the sides and back (ETM model shown).
I'm concerned that teachers and aides, custodians and other adults who will be returing to classrooms and school communal areas will have poor or inadquate protection when being potentially exposed to SARS-CoV-2 carriers for hours per day, indirectly exposed to dozens of other 'social bubbles' over which they have no control.
A 'bargain basement' scheme: Ontario's back-to-school plan under scrutiny
In my reading, older schools are notorious for having inadequate air circulation, fresh air injection and filtering.
If you are a teacher or other adult returning to the classroom during the COVID-19 pandemic, I would like to recommend the following ideas beyond what I am seeing as a weak set of protections (intermittent use of uncertified cloth masks, some physical distancing, increased room and surfaces cleaning frequency, quantities of hand sanitizer.)
A) In-room air filters. Have a look at this article:
Could a Janky, Jury-Rigged Air Purifier Help Fight Covid-19?
I would recommend putting a sizable box fan in each classroom, on a stand so the box fan and
filter are at approximately the same height as the heads of seated students. Filters should
be replaced regularly and frequently (perhaps weekly), and the used filters treated as
biohazardous material.
B) UV-C air sterilizers. One or two of these units (depending on their air volume rating) per classroom should also be effective in reducing the number of active viruses in the air in the classroom. (Econogics does not sell UV-C air cleaners, box fans, stands or filters. We just think they're likely to be benefical in the classroom environment during the pandemic.)
C) The Curtains for COVID wrap-around filter for face-shields. This we do sell, both as a DIY design and soon in a couple of formats to fit specific face-shields which I hope will be commercially available soon for those without basic sewing skills or equipment. The face-shield plus curtain arrangement offers a number of advantages over cloth face masks or face-shields alone.
- the face-shield allows others to see your facial expression, improving communication
- the face-shield does not muffle your voice like the cloth mask, improving communication
- the face-shield provides protection for the eyes of the wearer
- the face-shield prevents the wearer from touching their face, which we do unconsciously and
frequently, and more often when wearing a mask - the face-shield is 100% impenetrable to viruses due to talking, coughing or sneezing
- the curtain prevents virus from escaping except by moving down, which attains the same
result as physical distancing - the virus is moved below face level and less likely to
be transmitted - the face-shield and curtain combination prevents airborne viruses from reaching the
eyes, nose and mouth of the wearer from outside the shield and curtain - both the face-shield and curtain are re-usable; the shield can be cleaned with soap and
water or a disinfectant wipe, and the curtain can be washed with laundry detergent by hand
or in a washing machine - no additional biohazardous waste stream from disposable masks
If you would like to discuss the potential for ordering curtains in bulk to fit a local face-shield producer's product, please get in touch.
D) If adults are not going to use face-shields and curtains in the classroom, they should be using goggles with a cloth mask. It's possible to get swim goggles at low cost, including those with prescription lenses. I find them tiresome after an hour or so, but others don't have that issue. And they're intended to be an air-tight fit.
This article shows research which indicates the use of a face-shield
in addition to a cloth mask reduces the incidence of
being infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus dramatically - in this case, to zero.
SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among Community Health Workers in India Before and After Use of Face Shields
A quote from that Research Letter:
"After face shields, 50 workers (previously uninfected) continued to provide counseling, visiting
18,228 homes. Among the counseled, 118,428 persons, 2682 subsequently tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.
No worker developed asymptomatic or symptomatic infection." [emphasis added]
If we're serious about protecting our own health and others, we need protection which blocks the virus from reaching the mouth, nose AND EYES, and face-shields provide that required protection. Beyond the face-shield, we also need an effective protective filter, like a quality mask, to provide more complete protection. Where communication is important, including facial expression cues and clear pronunciation, an alternative to the face mask - the fabric curtain - appears to be a viable alternative.
If you didn't think spread from students to teachers is going to be a
serious issue, read these two items:
Kids Are Bigger Silent Spreaders Of COVID-19 Than We Realized
Here's the paper in the Journal of Pediatrics
Pediatric SARS-CoV-2: Clinical Presentation, Infectivity, and Immune Responses
From the paper:
"Conclusion
"This study reveals that children may be a potential source of contagion in the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic
in spite of milder disease or lack of symptoms, and immune dysregulation is implicated in severe
post-infectious MIS-C."
Breaking News! Curtains for COVID accepted for the Create the Future Contest
You can see the entry at https://contest.techbriefs.com/2020/entries/medical/10565.
All material related to the curtain design for face-shields is copyrighted by Darryl McMahon.
This includes, but is not limited to the designs, patterns and instructions for the curtain construction
and the terms: 'Curtains for COVID'; 'Curtains4COVID'; 'COVID Curtain'; 'face-shield curtain';
and 'face-shield wraparound'.
All rights reserved.
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