Infection protection in schools – Lots of warm air – District of Munich


After the summer holidays, a box should hum quietly in all classrooms and filter any corona viruses out of the air. At least that is how Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) imagines it and this week he promised to make money for air purification devices. However, mayors in the Munich district can sometimes only smile tiredly about the 50 percent funding from the Free State. They see high costs to come and question the sense of purchasing such devices. Some town hall chiefs are even really angry. The district administrator is also skeptical. Nevertheless, the offer will be checked in the town halls and in the district office.

Oberhaching’s Mayor Stefan Schelle (CSU) struggles for words. Otherwise he is seldom at a loss for the right formulations, but with the advance of his party leader he is. Schelle doesn’t know whether to be surprised or outraged, after all he tries it with humor: “There is a fairy tale about the angel Aloisius, who sits in the Hofbräuhaus and drinks beer, which is why the state government waits in vain for divine advice. Now it was the Hofbräuhaus long too, maybe that’s why there was a divine inspiration. “

In any case, it is a mystery to Schelle why such devices should suddenly be purchased, since six months ago they were not considered to be particularly effective in rooms that can be well ventilated. “Now we have the Delta variant, which has a much higher level of contamination, so I would not only have to set up air purification devices in every classroom, but also in the corridors and on the toilets,” says Schelle, just because of the knowledge: ” A little something is always possible. ” According to Schelle, the main thing that helps: “Vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate and test.” In fact, even the aerosol researcher Christian Kähler from the University of the Federal Armed Forces in Neubiberg, initially an advocate of air filters, initially made hope for virus-free classrooms in August, but then backtracked himself and admitted that cutting discs offered better protection and the devices did not provide ventilation would replace.

Unterschleißheim’s mayor Christoph Böck (SPD) sees himself as offended by the state chancellery. The city has set up the devices that the Free State has previously subsidized for rooms that are difficult to ventilate. Another 40 are to be ordered in July. It will take time for these to be delivered and installed. And much more would be needed. Böck accuses Söder of giving parents false hopes with untenable announcements and passing the buck to the municipalities.

Even if communities could get that many devices at once, there are more hurdles. Funding is just one problem – albeit a big one. Schelle calculates that he would have to buy around a hundred devices for his schools and after-school care center, each of which costs around 4,000 euros. So there is no avoiding a supplementary budget and would have to be put out to tender across Europe, he points out. He is also not at all sure whether the power lines in the schools are even aligned with it.

Schelle thinks that if the state government wants it, it should pass a law and, in accordance with the principle of connectivity, also assume the costs of the devices. Colleague Böck is of the opinion: If the Free State removes hurdles and takes over the financing in full, the advance would be welcome. The two mayors agree with the municipal umbrella organizations, which on Friday expressed their concerns and demands in a letter to the Prime Minister.

The Bavarian Association of Cities stated in a statement that it is not enough to offer funding and leave the municipalities alone. District Administrator Christoph Göbel (CSU) sees it similarly: “Even if we as a district basically welcome the fact that potential alternatives to renewed school closings and continued alternating lessons are being examined with regard to a possible renewed wave of infections in autumn in view of the highly contagious Delta variant, I am skeptical whether and to what extent the expectations of the state government can also be implemented in practice. Currently, too many – including fundamental – questions remain open. “

“The devil is in the details”

The Garching city administration is also critical of the feasibility of the new funding opportunities. The program will be examined carefully, but “the devil is in the details,” warns Mayor Dietmar Gruchmann (SPD). It is complex to install a ventilation system. “That has an incredible planning lead time,” says building authority manager Klaus Zettl. The city council is urging to use all possibilities. Ismaning also wants to re-examine the new funding opportunities, but Mayor Alexander Greulich (SPD) criticizes the lack of practicality in the state government’s proposal.

In Pullach, the local council approved 45,000 euros last autumn for the purchase of mobile Hepa air filter systems and decided to replace this temporary arrangement with decentralized ventilation systems within a year, for which 44,000 euros were estimated. For particularly difficult rooms, according to building authority manager Peter Kotzur, plans are being made to install a permanent ventilation system. The town hall is currently thinking about equipping all classrooms with mobile air filter systems. These considerations are to be dealt with at the local council meeting on July 27th. The community of Grünwald also wants to examine all eventualities of funding. The head of the office, Tobias Dietz, announced that there are plans to procure more air purification devices. One will “definitely not get angry about a new funding program, but look forward to it expectantly”.

Unterhaching also wants to take a closer look at the offer from the State Chancellery. Last year, the administration had calculated that the community would have to spend well over half a million euros on devices in all classrooms because there was no subsidy for ventilated rooms at the time. The municipal council agreed on ventilation. “The 50 percent are now an improvement,” says town hall spokesman Simon Hötzl.

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