Kanawha County Schools killing COVID with light - WSAZ-TV

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) - Every Kanawha County school now has a new tool to fight against COVID-19.

Portable ultraviolet (UV) light systems have been delivered to each school to sanitize classrooms and other frequently touched surfaces. These lights are typically used in hospital rooms and kill all germs in the air and on surfaces.

The UV lights are meant to supplement normal cleaning procedures that have been followed since the beginning of the pandemic, and can clean gym equipment and other soft surfaces that are hard to clean with a normal cleaning spray or wipe.

“Being able to prevent the spread of germs, by being able to come in if somebody has been sick, or using it be preventative to clean soft surfaces and clean the classroom,” Elk Center Elementary school nurse Amy Donovan said. “We are able to keep the kids in school so they are not home sick, and so they are not spreading the virus.”

Donovan said the light is extremely easy to use. They just roll it into a room, plug it in and extend the light poles. The operator then steps outside of the classroom to turn on the cleaning cycle with a remote from a safe distance. The light doesn’t have any harsh chemicals, so it can be safely used without impacting students with asthma or allergies.

The UV lights have already been used at Elk Center Elementary to clean balls in the gym, sanitize offices and eliminate germs in classrooms. Donovan plans to also use the lights to clean areas after a student gets sick to prevent the germs from spreading, and expects it to help beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, since the UV rays kill more than just coronavirus.

“Last year, we used a lot of chemicals, so it was a lot of physical effort,” Donovan said. “We had cleaning teams that would come out. They would work if we had people that were sick within the schools. This is just another tool to add on to what we were already doing.”

The lights were bought with federal COVID relief funding from the American Rescue Plan. Around 75 locations, including schools and other facilities, have these UV units at a total cost of around $140,000.

The hope is to keep students, teachers and staff healthy and in school after missing so much instructional time during the pandemic, Donovan said. Many people were concerned about the health and safety of school buildings reopening, but Donovan said these systems are already making people more comfortable and have kept Elk Center Elementary from having a positive COVID-19 case so far this year.

“This is something that is another bullet in their gun to combat the virus and hopefully keep the kids safe,” product distributor Rob Robinson said. “It’s something that I believe is definitely an easy step to keep the kids safe.”

These UV lights have different settings and operations, Robinson said, but the most common one will clean an entire classroom in just 15 minutes.

Every Kanawha County Schools nurse has been trained on this system and will be able to operate the lights at their school and train other people on using them. This allows school employees to handle the cleaning process themselves, instead of having to trust that an outside cleaning crew went into their classroom and did a thorough job.

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