HAZLE TOWNSHIP, Pa. (NewsNation Now) — One Pennsylvania school district’s inventive solution for combating COVID-19 is a disinfecting fog machine.
The device, Altapure AP-4, spreads hospital-grade disinfectant across classrooms and takes approximately 45 minutes per room.
Hazleton Area school district is the first public school district in the United States to utilize the tool reported NewsNation affiliate WBRE.
School administration officials and biotech engineers explained the power of the new technology at a demonstration Tuesday afternoon.
“It gives us another level of security and disinfecting power to ultimately bring our students back maybe a little bit more quickly than we originally thought or planned,” said Hazleton Area School District Superintendent Brian Uplinger.
The non-toxic, vinegar scented fog billows out to dehumidify and scrub the air in the room for coronavirus along with other bacteria and viruses.
The tool can disinfect 50 to 60 classrooms per gallon of disinfectant according to its manufacturer.
The Hazelton Area school district purchased the $100,000 device out of its own budget.
“This is a good investment because, honestly, you can’t put a price on your staff and the children of the district,” said President of the Hazleton Area School Board, Linda DeCosmo.
The school district emphasized that the new device does not replace encouraging face masks, social distancing, and good hygiene as well.
NewsNation affiliate WBRE contributed to this post.