These recommendations are now made available to the heads of Hauts-de-Seine establishments, in a facilitating methodological guide, available here.
Hauts-de-Seine - CSTB partnership research: analyze and limit the spread of the Covid-19 virus in schools
In the current epidemic context, limiting the spread of the Covid-19 virus in Establishments Receiving the Public - ERP, is a major issue. To do this, beyond individual barrier gestures, it is essential to take into account various parameters: ventilation and openings, user flow, configuration and time of occupation of spaces.
It is on this basis that the work undertaken by the Hauts-de-Seine Department and the CSTB is based last July, within the framework of a transversal research partnership initiated a few months earlier.
Carried out by multidisciplinary teams from CSTB (experts in indoor air quality, ventilation, flow of people and information technology), this work has enabled the development of a scientific methodology aimed at comparing solutions for controlling traffic in the viruses, in particular in secondary schools, based on objective criteria (concentration of viral particles in the air, density of pupils in areas of congestion, etc.).
A tool for analyzing BIM (Building Information Model) models allowing the configuration and occupancy parameters of the premises to be combined with the different ventilation and circulation scenarios has been specially designed for this.
The most efficient solutions could thus be determined. They are summarized in a guide given to each school head today, presenting the practical recommendations defined by the Hauts-de-Seine Department and the CSTB to limit the spread of the Covid-19 virus in secondary schools. They are also presented in a full scientific report, available on request from CSTB.
Methodological guide for colleges: supporting heads of establishments for easier management of Covid risk
After a reminder of the main recommendations (verification of ventilation systems, aeration, balanced occupation of spaces, organization of entrances and exits with a delay of at least 3 minutes between classes), 3 summary tables are proposed, listing all recommendations, organized around 3 axes: management of bio-cleaning, ventilation, and management of the flow of people.
Overall, around thirty actions are presented, each put into perspective with its level of efficiency and constraints and, where applicable, associated with specific additional precision. This involves, for example, operating the ventilation system 1 hour before and 1 hour after occupancy of the premises, favoring the closing of interior doors during lessons, opening the windows at least 5 minutes every hour, to impose one-way streets on the stairs, to favor the movement of teachers from one room to another rather than that of the students, to divide the building into zones to avoid the crossing of students from different zones, to avoid dry cleaning and use of the vacuum cleaner (likely to resuspend particles, etc.).
Thus conceived, this guide facilitates and clarifies, for the heads of establishments, the implementation of efficient measures in the management of the Covid risk.
“We must do everything possible to do, at all levels, to put an end to this epidemic which is causing a health crisis, but also a social and economic crisis. This experiment made it possible to identify the right behaviors to adopt in schools, behaviors that can be adapted in all buildings. The methodological guide, very easy to access, will, I hope, have the expected success so that everyone can apply this practical advice as widely as possible. "
Georges Siffredi - President of the Hauts-de-Seine Department
“Advancing knowledge that is useful for the Community is essential, and it is a priority in a health crisis. This issue is at the heart of the research partnership initiated by CSTB with the Hauts-de-Seine Department, aiming in particular to develop innovative methods and tools to effectively manage the risk of the Covid-19 virus spreading in public buildings. The reproducibility of these tools, their ease of access and appropriation by all stakeholders, like the methodological guide now available to Alto-Sequan colleges, are in this sense fundamental. "
Étienne Crépon - President of CSTB