Students taking their eighth-grade exams at schools in Kielce are accompanied by 54 Sterylis devices that allow for constant and safe disinfection of air in closed rooms. Their effectiveness in fighting coronavirus was confirmed by scientists from the Jagiellonian University at covid departments of hospitals in Bochnia and Cracow.

This year’s eighth-grade exam is held under a strict sanitary regime, conforming to the guidelines of the Central Examination Commission and the Ministry of Education and Science, and approved by the Chief Sanitary Inspectorate. Among other things, students must cover their nose and mouth until they take their seats in the examination room, as well as when consulting the teacher or finishing work with the examination sheet. Teachers, on the other hand, are required among other things to wear masks when moving around the room and to perform all organisational tasks using gloves.

Thanks to a technology developed in Poland, taking exams at schools in Kielce is additionally protected. This is taken care of by Sterylis devices, which were purchased by Kielce City Hall under the project ” Przeciwdziałanie i ograniczanie skutków epidemii COVID-19 na terenie Powiatu Grodzkiego – Miasta Kielce “. All of them use UV-C radiation and two-stage air filtration in the disinfection process.

A total of 54 devices from the BASIC series, certified by the National Institute of Public Health of the National Institute of Hygiene and laboratory-measured for safety in the UV-C range, were delivered to Kielce schools where this year’s eighth-grade exam is held. They have also been tested by the Jagiellonian University’s Medical College and are used, among others, in private and public hospitals, health centres and doctor’s offices, as well as in many commercial outlets throughout the country. The devices disinfect the air with UV-C light of the most effective wavelength in the fight against microorganisms – 254 nm

The effectiveness of Sterylis devices is confirmed by the results of a study announced in January by scientists from the Jagiellonian University who tested them in the covid wards of hospitals in Bochnia and Cracow. Air samples, device filters, masks and the immediate surroundings of hospitalised patients were analysed in detail.

– The virus is eliminated from the air by the device – says Anna Różańska, PhD, from the Department of Infection Control and Mycology, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Microbiology, Jagiellonian University – Its presence was confirmed on the face side of the patients’ surgical masks. It was also present on the inlet, pre-filter with which the air present in the room was introduced into the Sterylis device. After the air had passed through the device, after irradiation with UV-C radiation, the result of the test was negative on the outlet filter – adds Anna Różańska.

After the completion of the eighth grade exams, Sterylis devices will continue to serve the students and staff of Kielce schools, disinfecting the air during the daily work of the institutions.