BUFFALO, N.Y. — Schools, daycare centers and school-aged child care programs in Erie County will be getting some air filtration units.
The Erie County Department of Health (ECDOH) announced that it has purchased the units and will be delivering about 1,700 of the devices to those facilities throughout Erie County.
This is an expansion of the program from last spring, where 10,000 units were distributed throughout public and private schools in Erie County.
These units have been manufactured by Austin Air Systems of Buffalo. They purify the air by filtering bacteria, viruses, pollen and particulate matter.
The units will be delivered at the end of the month. They were funded by $890,000 in money from the federal government that was intended to be used to support COVID-19 mitigation.
“This project gives another level of protection for children, teachers and childcare staff against disease transmission,” said Commissioner of Health Dr. Gale Burstein.
“With other emerging public health threats, like the air pollution caused by wildfire smoke earlier this month, having these units running makes the air indoor spaces where kids spend time clearer and cleaner. That is particularly important for children, pregnant people, older adults and anyone who has asthma and other heart or lung conditions.”
