Hello, this is Dan from Smith’s School of English Miyakojima again 🙂
In April of this year, I wrote a previous blog post about the history of coronaviruses in general, and specifically about the new coronavirus, known as “SARS-CoV-2”. We learned that the Latin origin of the name “coronavirus” is “crown” because the virus itself looks like a crown.
We also learned that COVID-19 is the disease that results from infection by the virus SARS-CoV-2.
In this blog post I will discuss the precautions that we take in our classroom in order to avoid being infected by this new virus.
To understand what precautions against infection are necessary, first we must understand how coronaviruses are transmitted from person to person.
There are mainly two ways that people can become infected with a coronavirus:
- Contact Infection
- Airborne Infection
What is Contact Infection?
Coronaviruses infect our respiratory system, which means the virus gets into the tissues of the nose, mouth, throat and lungs. When we talk, sing, exercise or breathe we exhale a mixture of oxygen, CO2 and very small water droplets. The droplets are so small that we usually can’t see them with our eyes. The coronavirus attaches itself to these water droplets.
If someone is infected with the coronavirus, that person breathes out air and water droplets with the virus attached. Then, the water droplets travel in the air a short distance and fall on surfaces such as tables, computers etc. Next, an uninfected person touches the table or the computer and the virus is now on their hands. This person then touches their eyes, nose or mouth area, and now they can become infected. This is how a contact infection happens.
What is Airborne Infection?
Some of the water droplets are so tiny that they become an aerosolized spray. “Aerosolized” means the tiny droplets are so small that they travel in the air over longer distances, and don’t fall onto surfaces quickly. Bathroom air deodorizer is a good visual example of an aerosolized spray.
So a person infected with coronavirus breathes out an aerosolized water spray carrying coronavirus. This spray moves in a similar way to bathroom air deodorizer. Next an uninfected person breathes in the spray from the infected person and now they can be become infected. This is how an airborne infection happens.
What am I doing at Smith’s School of English Miyakojima to protect my students and myself?
At all of the Smith’s School of English locations we take the safety and comfort of our students seriously, and it is our number one priority. Together as a team, we came up with a comprehensive list of infection countermeasures that are based on scientific evidence. We feel confident that the tools and policies we have implemented make our classrooms the safest and most comfortable that a student can find.
The following video shows what I am doing at Smith’s Miyakojima to provide the safest possible learning environment for my students and myself.
The following list details the infection countermeasures that were created based on the advice from medical and scientific experts, as well as local governmental guidelines.
1. Masks (Airborne Infection Prevention)
Students and I wear masks during lessons. If a student forgets their mask I will provide the student with a mask free of charge.
2. Ventilation (Airborne Infection Prevention)
Smith’s School of English Miyakojima is located on the 4th floor of the building, with large doors and windows, at both ends of the classroom that can be opened. All doors and windows are opened during lessons in order to ventilate the classroom. The ventilation is excellent! The air in the classroom is as fresh as a spring day 🙂
3. CO2 Monitoring (Airborne Infection Prevention)
Smith’s School of English Miyakojima has a high-quality CO2 monitor. The monitor is installed in the classroom in a location that is visible, and it operates at all times during school hours. All students can see this monitor and are amazed at how low the CO2 levels are in the classroom. This is thanks to the strong ventilation we have achieved.
4. High-efficiency Air Purifiers (Airborne Infection Prevention)
The classroom at Smith’s School of English Miyakojima has two Sharp plasma cluster air purifiers with large capacity HEPA filters installed. These filter the air and remove 99% of viruses and bacteria from the air.
5. Hand Sanitizer (Contact Infection Prevention)
Alcohol sanitizer is available in the classroom for hand sanitizing before and after lessons.
6. Alcohol Disinfection (Contact Infection Prevention)
The instructor sanitizes the desks, door handles, etc., with alcohol. This is done multiple times a day after each lesson by the instructor. All students can feel comfortable that anything they touch will be clean and hygienic for every lesson.
7. Ion e Mist PRO (Contact Infection Prevention)
At Smith’s School of English Miyakojima an anti-virus nano mist has been sprayed on all surfaces to protect desks, chairs, doors, and everything else in the classroom from viruses and other unhealthy organisms.
Ion e Mist PRO is a nano mist of titanium dioxide, which is a very high-performance photocatalyst. When UV light hits a surface that was sprayed with the nano mist, all viruses and bacteria are destroyed. It provides antivirus, antimicrobial, odor, stain, and mold protection. The effect lasts for a long time.
8. Social Distancing (Airborne & Contact Infection Prevention)
The classroom at Smith’s English School Miyakojima is spacious with a large table. So it is easy to maintain a social distance of at least 1.5 meters inside the classroom. There is only one instructor in the school and no other people are in the school during lesson times.
Smith’s School of English – Miyakojima Classroom
I feel that through continued effort to implement these infection prevention countermeasures we have reached the highest levels of hygiene that cannot be found at most other English conversation schools.
I am sure that Smith’s School of English Miyakojima is the safest, most comfortable place to learn English conversation in Miyakojima-Ku. That is my promise to each and every one of my students.
To the best of my knowledge all the other Smith’s English Schools employ all or most of the same infection countermeasures as Smith’s Miyakojima. So you can feel confident studying at any of the Smith’s School of English locations.
Have fun learning English while staying safe studying at Smith’s School of English!
Dan Elliot – Smith’s School of English – Miyakojima
Jim says
Another good one Dan; loaded with preventative information. Miyakojima looks like a very nice, clean, safe environment for everyone. Thanks; great blog.
Derek Maeckelburg says
Great informative blog Dan. Well done and thank you!