“The holding of the Davos Forum marks a return to normal after two cancellations due to the pandemic”, have headlined some media. This return to normal for the world’s political and economic elites is under the sign of “living smart with the virus”, namely prevention against Covid-19: state-of-the-art air purification systems in each room, self-tests and masks, including FFP2, made available to participants, drivers always masked in official transport. Forgotten the principle of individual responsibility, carrying out a PCR test becomes an obligation to access the Forum; a possible positive result automatically triggers the deactivation of the access badge.
The pandemic is not over, the powerful of the world know it and adopt the simple and accessible solutions that exist. For example, the portable air purifier models seen in Forum photos shared on social media, cost a few hundred euros. More generally, the investments for prevention, and in particular in ventilation, are well worth the costs generated by the pandemic denial now shared by the majority of society, except by the most informed people, including obviously the leaders.
It’s no surprise: the financial press alert very often on the impact, including economic, long Covid ; institutions, such as the House of Lords in London, have called on specialist companies to integrate filtration solutions into the existing ventilation system to improve indoor air quality. Prestigious private schools in France always display a prevention protocol that meets the challenges, like the Alsatian School : air purifiers in catering establishments, CO2 sensors in all classrooms and meeting rooms, identification of positive cases. From luxury hotels in Dubai to Parisian banks, major French players like Veolia work on improving indoor air quality (IAQ).
Only 120,000 sensors have been deployed in schools
Meanwhile, our schools and educational establishments are still waiting for the “massive air purification effort” promised by candidate Macron on April 16, 2022 in Marseille. Admittedly, the State has granted, until December 31, 2022, funding of up to 8 euros per pupil so that local authorities can equip schools, colleges and high schools with CO2 detectors, which could have enabled the installation of nearly one sensor in each of the approximately 500,000 classrooms in the country. Yet only 120,000 sensors have been deployed, according to data from the Ministry of Education. The regulations indicates that air renewal is no longer satisfactory from 800 ppm of CO2 in the air, a value often exceeded in a few tens of minutes, as verified in classes lucky enough to have a sensor ( follow #BalanceTonCO2 on Twitter for some examples).
Without real-time measurement, how to renew the air efficiently, without impacting energy consumption in winter, and the thermal comfort of the occupants, by permanently opening the windows? And what to do when air renewal is not effective, in the absence of other measures for ventilation and purification? Only an ambitious National Ventilation Plan commensurate with the challenges, like that of the United States, can provide the answers to these questions. A plan that France does not have (yet?) and which is nevertheless crucial for the prevention of airborne diseases, such as Covid. This is what Internet users are demanding under #DavosStandard or #DavosSafe, which has gone viral on Twitter.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the wealthiest filtered or purified the water in their homes for drinking, leaving the poorest to continue drinking contaminated water. It will have taken more than 50 years for drinking water to reach all homes. How long will it take for clean air and prevention to be accessible to everyone, starting with children?
Elisa ZENO, Research Engineer, PhD, member of the “School and Forgotten Families” Collective; Louis LEBRUN, medical specialist in public health; Germain FORESTIER, University Professor; Corinne DEPAGNE, Pulmonologist; Laure DASINIERES, freelance journalist; Charlotte JACQUEMOT, cognitive science researcher, Adios Corona collective; Céline CASTERA, nurse; David SIMARD, Dr. in health philosophy, parent; Aude ROSSIGNEUX, journalist; Thierry AMOUROUX, spokesperson for the National Union of Nursing Professionals SNPI; Andrea-Cristina MAs, Pediatric Long Covid Collective; Cathie ERISSY, Secretary General of the Association for the Promotion of the Nursing Profession APPI; Franck CLAROT, Radiologist, Co-founder of “Du Coté de la Science”; Raphaëlle LAPOTRE, library curator, parent of students; Valérie REVERT, CPAM prevention officer on sabbatical and mother of 3 children; Philippe BORREL, author and director of documentary films; Sandrine GLAIZAL, national education employee; Armelle VAUTROT, University and therapist, student’s parent; Michaël ROCHOY, general practitioner; Igor AURIANT intensive care physician; Alain HOMSI, Director; Arnaud MERCIER, professor at Paris Panthéon-Assas University; Jonathan FAVRE, General practitioner and parent; Nathalie PIAT, iOS developer; Yannick FREYMANN, general practitioner; Emilie TRAN – Mother; Katia RENAULT, parent; Renaud GUERIN, engineer; Hélène POIRIER, doctor; Gisèle DASTE, student’s parent; Solenn LESVEN, parent of students; Matthieu CHAUVEAU, certified teacher and parent of students; Violette LAVERTUE, illustrator; Sophie PERRIN, statistician, member of the zero covid solidarity collective; Julie GRASSET, mother of a 4-year-old child; Priscillia FAUTRAT, videographer; Marie-Anne PANET General Practitioner; Christophe LAMARRE, doctor; Daphnée DOUDON, teacher; Olivier DOUDON, parent; Celine BON parent; Solenn TANGUY, Educational writer, parent; Isabelle BAUTHIAN, writer and science popularizer; Anita DANIEL, member of the collective zero covid solidarity; Corinne PLANTE – parent; Laure SOULÉ, parent; Marion PONSOT, research team assistant, and parent; Christophe PONSOT, Engineer and parent; Stéphane DEDIEU, University Professor; Mary VALDES; Christophe LEFEVRE, doctor and parent; Dominique LANG, Nurse Specialist in Hygiene, Prevention and Control of Infection; Emmanuel CAILLET, Architect and parent; Florent TETARD, Lecturer; Xavier HUGONET, Analyst, Consultant.