The Study of Co₂ Concentration in A Classroom During The Covid-19 Safety Measures

¹ Heat, Gas and Water Technology Institute, Riga Technical University, Kispalas street 6A, LV-1048, Riga, Latvia
² Daugavpils Secondary School Nr 9, 18 Novembra street 47, LV-5401, Daugavpils, Latvia

^* Corresponding author: jurgis.zemitis@rtu.lv

Abstract

The COVID-19 crisis has affected the process of how the study procedures are organized at schools in Latvia. Three different options were available for the school to choose from. However, most schools have opted for option A which states that the classes are organized face-to-face but various safety measures must be ensured. Each class or group is equated to a closed set where there are no distance requirements. In turn, the distance between the classes must be observed. This means that students stay in the same class all day and are accompanied by teachers of the respective classes. This can lead to improper ventilation as for most of the schools in Latvia it is organized through the opening of windows. To test this, measurements of CO₂ concentration were done in a classroom Secondary School in Daugavpils. The results showed that the CO₂ concentration was very high and often reached and exceeded the maximum measuring capacity of the device - 4000 ppm. It indicates that following the special safety procedures cause a negative effect on IAQ as the classrooms are not properly ventilated. This can lead to a drop in the performance of pupils as well as stimulate the transmission of other infectious diseases. Further measurements are necessary to gather data from different schools and best practices must be found.