To open my window on the bus

[notknowledgeable]

It seems to be a mission for some people to fight to have all the windows on the bus closed, for all of every journey? Why? Before covid this wasn't an issue - now it seems people have a point to make.

I get there can be a chilly draught, but just put your coat on, or put your hood up?

I am immunocompromised, and wear a mask and open the window on my way to and from work. Every single time I get ill, ( currently a couple of times a month) my classes are left with non specialist agency staff. I take all the precautions I reasonably can to keep from catching anything, but this constant battle on the bus every working day is really wearing my down.

The air on a bus changes more than the air in a corridor does 🤣

Buses stop every few minutes and open the doors, corridors (especially in a school) tend to be empty and then heavily full and then empty again, with no open air coming in

As I keep saying, the nature of aerosols means that if the air is relatively still (which it is at the back of the bus with no windows open. If it wasn't the people who say moving cold air makes them ill wouldn't be so horrified about windows being open, it would happen every time the doors open) the aerosols will accumulate. This means that anyone breathing that air in will pick up a large load of the virus that is hanging in the air.

Someone breathing them out in a corridor as they go from A to B will leave very little behind them, compared with someone sitting still on a bus for the duration of their journey, add to that the other people causing the air to move by moving through the corridor and it is a much lower risk environment.

I think a school corridor with intermittent crowds of people talking or shouting sounds much more virusy than a bus

Possibly, if they were standing there for as long as people stay still on a bus an if doors didn't keep opening and closing at both ends.

I'm I was going to say surprised, but actually it's more that I'm depressed that people seem to have such difficulty grasping this.

Imagine it's not aerosols in the air but biting bugs in water. Do you think you would get bitten more sitting in a bathtub of the bug filled water for half an hour, or quickly crossing a stream with bugs being swept past you?

How irresponsible of you to have got off the bus to walk in the cold and rain because you’re causing arguments on a bus of all places! You are unreliable and should resign.

So you definitely didn't catch the virus from any of the children in any of the classes you teach then? No?

Viruses are only on buses and not in classrooms? 🤔

They're only on buses which she didn't stay on for long as she got off and walked!

There's no virus in the classroom or corridors because her reasonable employers magic them away

Ventilation isn't magic.

Thst said most science has been considered witchcraft at some time in history. The world must be a confusing and exciting place for some people on this thread.

From one immunocompromised person to another, OP you are genuinely fucking insane and I'm surprised your job lets you get away with half of what you claim. Open windows all day every day and not being able to be physically near your students ... come on now, that's absurd!! I have to say that you were my son's teacher I'd be pulling him out of your class. You are NOT cut out for working with children, get over yourself!!

Being able to ensure someone definitely doesn't get ill somewhere is fucking magic
Hospitals can't manage it and they have stringent infection control measures

I work in a MAT with double figures number of schools. The MAT policy is window open in every classroom. This is nothing to do with me. It is the policy in many places. Because it reduces spread of infections. Long before I was immunocompromised and long before covid, many places I worked had infection control measures for flu and DandV. Opening windows is a long established and well proved control measure. it has only become an issue and a subject of control play since covid.

Yes of course I may have picked up this virus at school. It is possible. The fact remains it was probably the bus. it is the only place I have been crammed in with many other people unventilated.

I am really unwell, and look unlikely to be back at work for a while. That is over 200 students without a specialist teacher now. I expect if one of those is yours you will feel it was not worth the closing of a window on a bus

You definitely caught it on the bus you were barely on, and definitely not from a manky, germ ridden child that you've spent ages in a classroom with.
Bore off.... once again.... your health needs don't trump other peoples health needs.

I probably did catch it from the bus, yes, due to being crammed tightly with other people in a badly ventilated space for long periods, rather than in a spaced out and well ventilated classroom. Not definitely, but probably.

I always open the Windows on the bus - I get a headache if no air and stuffy - stick a hat on if you feel cold - not fair on people that get ill with no fresh air !

Take a paracetamol if you get a headache, not fair on people who get really cold (even if they already wear multiple layers including a hat, scarf and gloves)

And why do they bother with these infection control measures, when the patients would probably get ill in other environments anyway do you suppose?
Maybe, just maybe, they do the best to minimise infections in the area they can control. A bit like opening an openable window on a bus. It's not like OP is carrying one of those emergency hammer things to smash the windows out.

It's hardly groundbreaking, the idea that fresh air helps to stop the spread of airborne pathogens. A little known lady called Florence Nightingale was quite keen on it.

OP while you shouldn't need to do it, you should be able to just open the window, there are small battery hepa filters that you can carry and point at yourself when on public transport surrounded by delights such as are on this thread.

Munchkin do a very portable one (size of a pringles can). The smartair qt3 is larger to carry but more effective. There are some threads on twitter comparing various ones.

Thank you - I will look into this

If you can get something that helps mitigate your own risk without causing other people discomfort then you should do it.

Protect yourself and don't harm others. Simple

Fresh air is healthier for everyone. The people who can't tolerate outdoor temperature air in winter should be the ones taking steps to deal with that, not stopping people doing the correct thing to minimise viral transfer for everyone.

It's not really any different to wanting clean water, weirdly you didn't get people whining about that cramping their style.although maybe there were and they all carried on drinking from bad sources and got cholera while proving their point. Oooh the clean water makes my teeth hurt! I'm going to drink this puddle water instead.

well, I can't find my original log in, so I have set up another. I went back to work this week, finally. That is how long it took, that is how long two hundred teens were without a specialist teacher.....