DALTON, Ga. — The Whitfield County Board of Education has approved a purchase order of $47,960 for Ecovasive to treat and disinfect schools and buses, another step in the battle to protect against the new coronavirus (COVID-19).

“They come in (to) spray chemicals that are supposed to kill the COVID-19 virus, and we’ve been told it lasts three months,” said Judy Gilreath, superintendent of Whitfield County Schools. The deal is for two treatments, which “will get us through February.”

Dalton Public Schools is among other systems to contract with Ecovasive for its services during this pandemic.

The electrostatic nature of the spray means charged ions wrap around objects to provide “very full coverage of areas,” according to Rusty Lount, director of operations for Dalton Public Schools. “It’s a nice, even, smooth coat (with) continuous protection.”

Should Whitfield County Schools desire more treatments, the contract provides for two more applications at the same cost, said Mike Ewton, assistant superintendent for operations and student services. The product is endorsed by the Georgia School Boards Association’s risk management group, and the first treatment for Whitfield County Schools is scheduled for later this month. School starts on Aug. 31.

Ecovasive’s disinfectant is on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s list of products “for use against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.”

It’s an “electrostatic application,” which isn’t foreign to Whitfield County Schools, as the system uses electrostatic for weekly cleanings, as well, Ewton said. The spray contains positively-charged particles that are able to aggressively adhere to surfaces and objects.

Ewton admitted he was “very skeptical” initially, but when the treatment gained the imprimatur of Joe Yarbrough, president of the Dalton-based Carpet and Rug Institute, and his chemists, “I became convinced,” Ewton said. “The polymer sits on surfaces with ‘molecular swords”’ that can rupture the coronavirus.

Bill Worley, chairman of the Whitfield County Board of Education, likewise spoke to chemists he knew, and they also signed off on Ecovasive’s chemical.

“It should do what it’s supposed to do,” Worley said.

The Ecovasive treatment is “one more layer” to protect students and staff, Ewton said. Facilities will be cleaned weekly (which includes a fogging treatment every seven days), thoroughly at the end of each day, and in high-use areas multiple times each day.