Harrison Gereau is reporting for News10 [dot] com that Albany County officials announced August 31, that 5,000 portable air filtration units have been purchased for K-12 classrooms countywide. The air purifiers, manufactured in New York by Austin Air Systems, were unveiled at Watervliet High School by County Executive Daniel P. McCoy, President of Austin Air Systems, Lauren McMillan and Watervliet officials. The portable units are intended to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 in schools and throughout the community. Austin began delivering the units in late August. Nearly 4,100 air purifiers will be provided to public schools, with the rest going to private and charter schools. The total cost of each Austin Air HealthMate unit was about $540. Albany County funded the program with a federal grant supporting COVID-19 mitigation efforts in K-12 schools. The units are equipped with HEPA filtration, a key tool for mitigating COVID-19 transmission indoors. Medical-grade HEPA technology is certified to remove 99.97 percent of all particles larger than 0.3 microns and up to 95 percent of all airborne contaminants as small as 0.1 microns, including viruses, bacteria, dust, dander, and allergens. The unit's filter also includes a carbon blend to remove chemicals, gases and odors. Read the full story at News10 [dot] com.