There's no plan to upgrade ventilation systems in Yukon schools

As schools reopen in Yukon on Thursday, many parents will be thinking of their childrens' safety amid COVID-19 — but the territorial government says its ventilation systems are up to code.

In its COVID-19 guidelines for school administrators, Canada's federal public health agency recommends increasing air exchange in schools, ensuring ventilation systems — which provide circulation and conditioning of air — work properly. 

According to the World Health Organization, aerosol transmission "cannot be ruled out" when looking at reported outbreaks of COVID-19 in closed settings, for example at restaurants, work places, or churches, where people may be talking or singing. This is particularly the case "in these indoor locations where there are crowded and inadequately ventilated spaces where infected persons spend long periods of time with others."

As such, the federal health agency also recommends opening windows, when weather permits. But in the North, that can pose a challenge.

We'll be doing what we can to increase fresh air volumes.- Nick Akers, Yukon Highways and Public Works

"I would be concerned too, and especially in cold climates because we tend to re-circulate more air," said Don Fulmer, owner of Fireweed Home Comfort, a full service heating contractor in Whitehorse.

He says it will cost more money to reheat schools, but in the long run it might be more beneficial.

Fulmer says professional UV light systems for air exchangers in schools could help as well, since they're proven to get rid of infectious agents. 

Many schools in Yukon are older buildings, except for F.H. Collins Secondary School and the new Paul-Émile Mercier Secondary School Community Centre, both in Whitehorse. 

Fulmer's company has done major duct cleaning projects and ventilation work in Yukon schools. He said the territorial government needs a strategy for safe air quality, especially given the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the South.

"Just look at what's going on in the States. I mean it should be a no-brainer that we need to be proactive in what we are doing here," said Fulmer. 

Routine maintenance and inspection

In a written statement, a spokesperson for Highways and Public Works said they provide routine maintenance and inspections of ventilation systems in all Yukon buildings, including schools.

"Currently, scientific information indicates COVID-19 is transmitted through wet droplet transmission and is not readily airborne," the statement said.

"All major ventilation systems in all our buildings are engineered and compliant with the various codes and standards, to ensure the health and safety of students, staff and visitors to the building."

In Yukon, the chief medical officer of health has recommended that students over the age of 10 wear masks, though they are not mandatory.

Nick Akers, a superintendent of maintenance for Yukon's Highways and Public Works, says school ventilation systems are being maintained and operated as they are designed to run. 

"Many of our maintenance staff, including myself, [their] children and spouses work and attend these schools. So we will continue to do what we can from a maintenance standpoint to make sure the schools are a safe and healthy place to occupy," said Akers. 

Akers said if any recommendations or guidance changes from the industry or medical professionals, they will certainly abide by them.

"We absolutely will consult with our peers within other government departments and initiate any kind of action that is deemed necessary," said Akers.

"I know as parents sending our kids back into the schools is creating some anxiety, and we'll be doing what we can to increase fresh air volumes and filtration where it's technically feasible," he added in a subsequent email. 

So far, Ontario is one of the few provinces to promise improved ventilation systems in its back-to-school plans, announcing $50 million in upgrades. Teachers' unions and parents in the province have raised red flags about poor, outdated systems.