Ontario says it is providing more stand-alone HEPA filter units for schools and child-care centres to offer more children greater protection against COVID-19.

A Monday statement says up to 40,000 more air purifiers will be made available to school boards and up to 9,000 will go to child-care settings.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce says ventilation improvements are a critical priority, after the government previously announced that it would provide 73,000 of the filters and other ventilation devices.

The province says the Ministry of Education will reach out to school boards and child-care centres about delivery and use of the filters.

It says the new commitment will affect roughly one million children in the province.

There have been calls for strict ventilation standards in schools to protect against COVID-19.