Germany to make ventilation and opening windows a part of the strategy of dealing with coronavirus

[YellowWave]

Look at this:

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/30/germans-embrace-fresh-air-to-ward-off-coronavirus

Germany is making ventilation a key component to fighting the coronavirus spread. Makes sense. At home the windows are usually open. I open windows at work for ventilation, especially now and for safety reasons for the virus in case anyone is infectious and we don't know it yet.

I am a nanny and the family I work for is absolutely allergic to having some windows open. I hate it. I go about opening windows to ventilating the place to try and keep us all safe. But they go around closing them again.

@Sleepyblueocean putting your baby out to air! I remember that too.

WTF? What has class got to do with fresh air?

So says someone who never worries about their heating bill.

notevenat20 dont talk daft.

Its a proper working class thing to air the house in the morning. Its not the same as leaving the windows open all day with the heating on. Its alongside making the beds, washing the front step etc. When my nan had her first children there was no NHS, antibiotics were new. They didnt have hot and cold running water or an indoor toilet. It was all about household hygiene and cleaning during the day. She did a cleaning shift at the factory early morning and another factory in the evening and kept the house and clothes fresh in the day.

I grew up with parents who insisted that all windows be open in the house for 10 minutes a day to air the house out, this being something they did bach home in their East Asian Country. Not great when the weather would get to below freezing,but they insisted.

I air out my house every morning to continue the tradition - luckily it never gets as cold here as back home.

In terms of ventilation, all of the houses I have lived in here have been Victorian and every room has vents built in like the one in the picture meaning that rooms are being vented even without the windows open (there are slotted and open by sliding the button)- my kitchen alone has three of these vents. Drives my DH batty, as well as the single glazed windows and he grumbles about the pointlessness of heating the house if it is constantly being vented to the outside. I have never seen this in France of the US .

I don't understand this talk of airing the house. The problem is being infected by another person. If an infected person is in the house then it could help to have all the windows open while they are there. But airing the house for 10 minutes in the morning is completely irrelevant isn't it?

I air my house every morning. I thought that was just normal.

You have heating in the bedroom?!
The sheer decadence, lol.

Good luck with insisting people open the windows. I don't mind a bit of air but the evils I got in Feb opening a window on the bus (next to me) when the windows were dripping with condensation .... man 1 seat immediately slammed it shut.

To the PP worrying about heating bills - you turn off the heating when you air your room - be engery and environment conscious.

And this class thing on MN is a totally alien concept to me.
But if it helps my ancestors were farm workers and miners - and the windows were opened regularily, together with airing the beds before they were made up for the day and before you turn in for the night.

It’s not a class thing. Some people on MN want to turn everything into a class issue. 😂

So true.
Faffing in about class at irrelevant moments: It's the British curse.

Faffing on I meant.

I work in Canary Wharf @YellowWave

OP if you keep disregarding your employer's wishes you're going to find yourself out of a job.

They have a very sick child, they are probably prioritising that over the possibility of covid.

Cases are massively rising in Germany too, opening the window is not a cure-all.

Ventilation is a huge factor in transmission. It is absolutely vital that the government issues a national directive stating that all windows in schools must be kept open at all times throughout the winter.

I just had a message from school - Berlin schools will (after the 2 week holiday) set on a 4 stage scheme of increasing measures (stage 4 being hybrid lessons). The measures are linked to the school, the area of intake and the local risk level.
And all schools will be equipped with CO2 readers to make sure airing is done properly.
My part of Berlin is high risk at the moment - outbreaks being liked to 'young international people celebrating' (not raves, just parties, reunions and weddings).

CO2 monitors. How posh.😉

I've always opened windows on buses as I get travel sick. At the moment I think buses are one of the higher risk places to be re Covid so windows should always be open but they rarely are even though the temperatures are not yet really cold. Train windows should also be opened though trains are lower risk as much more spacious.

The windows on buses where I live have been left open at the start of the day. This doesn't stop people shutting them of course!

I’d issue fines for people closing windows @ScaramoucheFandango. The importance of ventilation has been hugely understated and it is a key tool in our armour this winter.

The government should be clear that every window that can be open must be in schools, hospitality and public transport.

I’d issue large fines to companies and schools closing windows.

I have a good mind to give them an absolute fright and go out to a party at the weekend and take up smoking just to develop a cough. See if they like a potential exposure.
What a vile way to behave , please resign immediately you have no place being a nanny @YellowWave

Who would be policing this and issuing these fines ?

Information dissemination is the missing link here.

Yes it would be a vile way for her to behave if she she were to actually do this but clearly she isn’t actually going to AldiAisleofCrap and is venting during difficult times to get some annoyance out of her system. Why do we all need to keep turning on each other all the time ?

DS’s school has windows open. I thought people aired daily, both sets of Grandparents did , German and English (working class). But I am getting older and come from an era where we were stuck in the garden in Prams.