OIA 1296853 Final response letter.pdf

27/01/2023
Matt Brown
[FYI request #20646 email]

Tēnā koe Matt

OIA: 1296853 – “Help Slow Covid-19 – Heat, Open, Reboot" poster
Thank you for your request dated 23 September 2022 requesting the following, relating to the
“Help Slow Covid-19 – Heat, Open, Reboot" poster:
1.  The scientific and/or public health advice received and/or considered by MoE that supports
the advice provided on the poster regarding the level and acceptable duration of different
CO2 levels in a classroom.
2.  Any other documentation (including, but not limited to email, meeting notes, reviews, earlier
proposed versions) relating to the creation, review and publication of this poster.
3.  Any documentation that involves discussion of the relationship between the acceptable
levels of CO2 described in the "How to Slow Covid-19" poster and the "Indoor Air Quality
and Thermal Comfort" requirements provided at
https://assets.education.govt.nz/public/Documents/Primary-Secondary/Property/Design/
Indoor-Air-Quality-and-Thermal-Comfort-V2-v2.0-2022.pdf
4.  In the case that the "How To Slow Covid-19" poster and the "Indoor Air Quality and Thermal
Comfort" document are owned by different teams / departments / people / groups within
MoE - all communication between these groups that discusses classroom CO2 levels and
ventilation between February and September 2022 inclusive.
As indicated earlier, your request has been considered under the Official Information Act 1982 (the
Act). I am now able to provide the following information in relation to your request:
Appendices
Document title or relates to
Appendix One
Help Slow Covid-19 – Heat, Open, Reboot poster
Appendix Two
Copies of the content that became the published website CO2 guidance,
with the following revision dates:
- 1
February
2022
-  29 April 2022
-  9 September 2022
-  14 October 2022
Wellington National Office, 1 The Terrace, Levels 5 to 14, Wellington 6011
PO Box 1666, Wellington 6140, DX SR51201 Phone: +64 4 463 8000

Appendix Three  Scientific advice received/and or considered that later led to the
production of the “Help Slow Covid-19 – Heat, Open, Reboot" poster
Some information has been withheld under the following sections of the Act:
  9(2)(a) – to protect the privacy of individuals – applicable to contact and personal
information
  9(2)(g)(i) – to maintain the effective conduct of public affairs through the free and frank
expression of opinions between members of an organisation in the course of their duty in
advising the Ministry.
Context
The “Help Slow Covid-19 – Heat, Open, Reboot" poster [refer Appendix One] was a deliverable of
the Ministry’s COVID-19 ventilation in schools response programme. The poster was created on 21
July 2022 as part of the Ministry’s support for schools in response to the COVID-19 Omicron
variant nationwide resurgence at that time. It advises schools to heat rooms, open windows while
staying warm and regularly refresh the air to help slow the transmission of COVID-19 and other
illnesses.
The programme first published Carbon Dioxide (CO2) guidance on 1 February 2022. This and
other ventilation guidance was subsequently refined with revisions published 29 April, 9 September
and 14 October 2022. This published guidance is attached in full as Appendix Two.
The guidance presented on the poster is intended to be consistent with this published CO2
guidance. It provides tips to refresh the air further if CO2 levels are elevated for a sustained period
at or above thresholds of 800, 1250 and 2000ppm to demonstrate increasing risk, and therefore
the increasing importance of mitigations when sustained CO2 levels are over 800ppm. A three-
point colour scale is used to communicate this, aligning to the capability of the portable CO2
monitors being distributed, which allow three CO2 alert thresholds to be set.
The Ministry will continue to refine its ventilation and CO2 guidance in support of good indoor air
quality in New Zealand schools.
Part 1: Scientific and public health advice received and/or considered regarding the level
and acceptable duration of different CO2 levels in a classroom.
The programme has received its COVID-19 ventilation advice, including that relating to the
published CO2 guidance, from a panel of experts that includes representatives from the Ministry of
Health, NIWA, BRANZ, GNS Science and the Universities of Canterbury, Massey and Victoria.
The programme team included expert resources from the Ministry’s School Design team, which is
also responsible for the Designing Quality Learning Spaces (DQLS) series of documents and
requirements.
All COVID-19 ventilation guidance produced by the programme was formed collaboratively, and
often under urgency, with VTAG members providing frequent advice and review comments, and
supporting the final published version(s). I am providing the key information we have been able to
OIA: 1296853

identify, in part, as Appendix Three. Some information has been withheld from this documentation
under the following sections of the Act:
9(2)(a)
to protect the privacy of natural persons, including that of deceased natural
persons
9(2)(g)(i)  to maintain the effective conduct of public affairs through the free and frank
expression of opinions by or between or to Ministers of the Crown or members of
an organisation or officers and employees of any public service agency or
organisation in the course of their duty.
Part 2: Documentation relating to the creation, review and publication of the poster
Please also refer to Appendix Three for this part of your request. Please note that we have
interpreted the intent of this request to relate to the ventilation, CO2 levels and acceptable duration
guidance presented on the poster, and have excluded documentation relating to other matters not
directly pertaining to this – for example quoting, production and logistical distribution, and
translation of the poster into te reo Māori.
Part 3: Documentation discussing the relationship between the poster and the Indoor Air
Quality and Thermal Comfort requirements
Discussion on the relationship to the DQLS requirements and the CO2 guidance produced by the
programme occurred as part of the initial formation of the CO2 guidance published on
1 February 2022, which is included in Appendix Two.
There was no subsequent discussion on the relationship between the poster and these
requirements.
Part 4: All communications between Ministry groups that discuss classroom CO2 levels and
ventilation, between February and September 2022 inclusive
We confirm that the Ministry’s Te Puna Hanganga, Matihiko | Infrastructure and Digital group
includes the temporary COVID-19 ventilation in schools response programme team. The
programme team included resources from the School Design team (who are responsible for the
Indoor Air Quality and Thermal Comfort and other DQLS documents), but the team performed
functionally as one unit, rather than different groups.
Your request could be attributable to all communications within the programme team that included
the School Design resources. As noted in our decision letter, this part of your request has been
refused under section 18(f) of the Act, as the information requested, beyond that provided in
Appendices One to Three, cannot physically be made available without substantial collation or
research.
Please note, the Ministry now proactively publishes official information responses on our website.
As such, we may publish this response on our website after five working days. Your name and
contact details will be removed.

OIA: 1296853

Thank you again for your email. You have the right to ask an Ombudsman to review the decision
on your request, in accordance with section 28 of the Act. You can do this by writing to
[email address] or to Office of the Ombudsman, PO Box 10-152, Wellington 6143.
Nāku noa, nā

Sam Fowler
Head of Property
Te Puna Hanganga, Matihiko | Infrastructure and Digital

OIA: 1296853