COVID-19: Holyoke Public Schools install HEPA filter units in all classrooms Updated Jan 27, 2021; Facebook Share HOLYOKE – Mayor Alex B. Morse shifted $950,000 in federal CARES Act funding to provide HEPA or high-grade air filters for all Holyoke Public Schools classrooms to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The City of Holyoke and the school district will buy 449 Carrier OptiClean air filtration machines. According to the manufacturer, the standalone units scrub the air of microscopic particles and discharge clean air back into a room. In a statement, the district noted the HEPA filters improves air quality for students and teachers and “mitigate the risk of airborne transmission of COVID-19.”