Unanswered questions from Tuesday's "Town Hall" Meeting

I was rather frustrated that so little of Tuesday’s “Town Hall” meeting was used to address the many questions that we have about the University’s plans for the Fall Quarter (and beyond). They mentioned something about answers to questions they did not address being posted somewhere on the website. Does anyone know if those Q & A’s have been posted yet, or when they are expected to be posted? The “Autumn Quarter FAQs” page does not appear to have been updated since the Town Hall was announced.

The goforward website seems to be adding FAQ’s under the “education” section and perhaps will add some under housing and dining once the lottery happens today. The college website’s Autumn 2020 page also has FAQ’s though not sure if those have been updated.

Hopefully both sites will continue to provide updates throughout the summer.

What is it you wish to know?

@JBStillFlying, if you or anyone else here is privy to this information, I am most concerned about how the University plans to address indoor air quality before bringing students back to campus. I have not heard or seen any mention of improvements to HVAC systems (e.g. use of HEPA filtration or UV light), only discussion of use of facial coverings, social distancing and quarantining. With the amount of time students will be spending indoors, failure to address indoor air quality seems highly imprudent.

@newmaroonmom - Provost Lee did make a general reference to ventilation:

“Everyone returning to campus will need to complete training in advance and be expected to wear face coverings, practice social distancing, and self-monitor for symptoms of COVID-19.
 Classrooms are being reconfigured to allow for social distancing and new ventilation and cleaning protocols will be put in place to comply with new local and federal guidelines and regulations.
”

You might request specifics as that question is a good one for the FAQ’s. My guess is that this is still an evolving issue. UChicago is currently undertaking a study in the hospital that will have wide application to indoor buildings in general:
https://news.uchicago.edu/story/how-far-does-covid-19-spread-through-air-study-monitors-virus-hospital-rooms

Obviously, UChicago is continuing to follow any indoor air ventilation systems required or advised by CDC and IDPH. But they are also learning things from their own hospital’s and healthcare workers’ experience treating Covid patients. We should expect some of their protocols to evolve throughout the quarter as they conclude new ways to keep the campus free from infection spread.

Not too worry, no school outside of Cambridge can afford such improvements bcos they would require a complete redesign. One just cannot add a HEPA filter to an existing HVAC system without swapping out the blower AND ensuring that the ductwork is all sealed. It would require thousands of $ per building. Just not practical in older buildings. Hospitals and clean rooms – which have multiple ari exchanges per hour – are designed for clean filtration; a standard office/college building is not.

(As an exercise, call your local HVAC contractor and ask what it would take to upgrade your home HVAC to HEPA filters.)

That said, all colleges can definitely clean out the ducts and change/upgrade filters to the extent that the existing blowers will handle the increased resistance.