As respiratory illnesses surge, some local residents are taking matters into their own hands by building do-it-yourself air purifiers.
Known as Corsi-Rosenthal boxes, they require little more than a box fan, some furnace filters and duct tape. Recently, a group of volunteers gathered at Sackville Commons and Co-working to build six of the devices.
“It makes our space very safe,” said Shoshanna Wingate, a local community organizer, author and former poet laureate for the Town of Sackville.
She organized the workshop, which was led by Prof. Dave Thomas of Mount Allison University.
“It cleans COVID-19 out of the air, as well as allergens, other viruses,” she said.
Sackville Rotary donated funds to pay for materials, amounting to $700 for six boxes, she said. That about $116 per box.
On Sunday, Wingate spoke to CHMA about the devices, and how respiratory illnesses are affecting families in Sackville. Listen to the full interview:
The DIY system is named after environmental engineer Richard Corsi, who came up with the idea, and Jim Rosenthal, the head of a filter manufacturer in Texas, who first built it.
READ MORE: Step-by-step instructions on how to build an air purifier, written by Richard Corsi.
The Anglican Parishes of Sackville and Dorchester have also built and installed their own Corsi-Rosenthal boxes.
Photos on social media show a group of parishioners making eight of the air filter boxes during a workshop organized by Kandice Cann.
The post said the boxes are meant to help people “stay safe in worship” at Saint Paul’s church in Sackville and Saint Anne’s church in Westcock.
Up-to-date figures from schools unavailable
Last week, CHMA reported that fully one-third of students at Marshview Middle School were staying home due to illness.
And the principal of Tantramar Regional High recently told parents that about 30 per cent of students were absent daily due to illnesses, with many staff also off sick.
Up-to-date numbers aren’t easy to come by. On Wednesday, CHMA reached out to the principals of Salem Elementary, Marshview Middle and Tantramar Regional High, asking for an update.
None replied, except for principal Ada Phinney of Salem Elementary, who said all questions must go through the Anglophone East School District.
Stephanie Patterson, director of communications for the school district, said the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development uses school data to compile a monthly report.
But data from November isn’t currently available, and won’t be ready until the middle of December, she said.
Triple threat
Meanwhile, the Public Health Agency of Canada has reported high rates of influenza across the country.
The most recent respiratory virus reports, for the weeks ending Dec. 3 and Nov. 26, indicate that flu activity “is far above expected levels for this time of year,” though it appears to have stabilized.
Internationally, there have been reports that COVID-19, flu, and the virus known as RSV are together driving a wave of respiratory illnesses, a combo that’s putting renewed pressure on children’s hospitals and pediatric units.
