As respiratory illnesses surge, some local residents are taking matters into their own hands by building do-it-yourself air purifiers.
Known as Corsi-Rosenthal boxes, they require little more than a box fan, some furnace filters and duct tape.
Recently, a group of volunteers gathered at Sackville Commons and Co-working to build six of the devices.
“It makes our space very safe,” said Shoshanna Wingate, a local community organizer, author and former poet laureate for the Town of Sackville. She organized the workshop, which was led by Prof. Dave Thomas of Mount Allison University.
“It cleans COVID-19 out of the air, as well as allergens [and] other viruses,” Wingate said. Sackville Rotary donated money to pay for materials, amount to $700 for six boxes, she said.
The DIY air filtration system is named after environmental engineer Richard Corsi, who came up with the idea, and Jim Rosenthal, the head of a filter manufacturer in Texas, who first built it.
The Anglican Parishes of Sackville and Dorchester have also built and installed their own Corsi-Rosenthal boxes.
Photos on social media show a group of parishioners making eight of the air filter boxes during a workshop organized by Kandice Cann.
The post said the boxes are meant to help people “stay safe in worship” at Saint Paul’s church in Sackville and Saint Anne’s church in Westcock.
Last week, CHMA reported that fully one-third of students at Marshview Middle School were staying home due to illness.
And the principal of Tantramar Regional High recently told parents that about 30 per cent of students were absent daily due to illnesses, with many staff also off sick.
Meanwhile, the Public Health Agency of Canada has reported high rates of influenza across the country.
The most recent Respiratory Virus Report, for the week ending Nov. 26, states that influenza activity “is far above expected levels for this time of year and continues to increase.”
Internationally, there have been reports that COVID-19, flu, and the virus known as RSV are together driving a wave of respiratory illnesses. And the combo has been putting renewed pressure on hospitals, especially pediatric units.
On Sunday, Wingate spoke to CHMA about the devices, and how respiratory illnesses are affecting families in Sackville:
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the name of the author. The byline was updated at approximately 11:45 a.m. Atlantic, on Tuesday, December 6, 2002.