Vic to use air purifiers as part of safe return-to-school plan
The Department of Education and Training Victoria will be installing air purifiers in each public school classroom as part of its safe return-to-school plan.
Samsung will supply 51,000 AX90T7080WD (AX7500) Air Purifiers to the Victorian Government Department over the next four months. Given the critical timing, Samsung has chartered a flight from its manufacturing hub in Korea to deliver the air purifier units in a timely manner.
Jeremy Senior, Vice President of Consumer Electronics at Samsung Electronics Australia, said that Samsung commends the Victorian Education and Training Department for looking at different types of technology as a way to protect and bring confidence back to the community.
“Research has shown air purifiers can help minimise the spread of harmful airborne contaminates. We believe that the addition of air purifiers with HEPA filters into classrooms will also bring confidence that the right precautious are being taken as we get into the rhythm of our new normal.”
The Minister for Education in Victoria, James Merlino MP, said, “I know Victorian families can’t wait to see their kids back in the classroom — but we need to keep them safe once they’re there, and we’re delivering ventilation devices to prevent as much transmission on school sites as possible.
The efficacy of portable air purifiers has been independently verified by University of Melbourne research, since published in The Journal of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology1.
Using Samsung’s AX60T5080WD (AX5500) Air Purifier, the research found portable air cleaning devices that have HEPA filtration helped increase the clearance of aerosols. Samsung technology allows the remote operation of its air purifier en masse. The SmartThings and ‘B.IoT’ (Business IoT) software allow for remote management of these devices at scale in schools, hospitals, quarantine hotels, offices and other indoor environments. Managing these units at scale and remotely is far more efficient, more effective and safer than manual and individual device management in locations where it is not always possible or safe to enter a space or room (eg, COVID quarantine).
In addition to education environments, Samsung’s air purifiers are already being used in a variety of settings within the Australian public and private sectors to help reduce the risk of airborne transmission of COVID-19, including hotel quarantine programs in Victoria and Queensland, and major hospitals.
1 Buising, K. L., Schofield, R., Irving, L., Keywood, M., Stevens, A., Keogh, N., Skidmore, G., Wadlow, I., Kevin, K., Rismanchi, B., Wheeler, A. J., Humphries, R. S., Kainer, M., Monty, J., McGain, F. and Marshall, C. (2021) “Use of portable air cleaners to reduce aerosol transmission on a hospital coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) ward,” Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, Cambridge University Press, pp. 1–6
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