The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recently updated its guidance for public facility cleaning and disinfection to reflect the latest information and status of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Updated CDC Guidelines for Facility Cleaning and Disinfection.
The CDC recently updated its guidelines regarding facility cleaning and disinfection recommendations to combat and halt the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The guidance establishes ground rules for cleaning and disinfection frequency depending on specific criteria, including:
- The spread of COVID-19 in the community.
- How often and well occupants wash their hands.
- The percentage of occupants wearing masks in the facility on a regular basis.
- The demographics of occupants in the facility and the corresponding risk factors to those demographics, especially age and comorbidity, and;
- How to respond in the event an infected person enters the facility.
In general, where community spread and occupant risk is low, and handwashing compliance is high, the CDC recommends:
- Daily cleaning with commercial-grade soap-based detergents.
- No additional facility-wide disinfection requirements outside of normal procedures, and;
- Routine fomite disinfection.
If community spread is high, occupants aren't washing their hands well or often, or the primary demographic of facility occupants leans towards the ill or elderly:
- An increase in daily cleaning frequencies is recommended.
- Depending on the severity of the risk, additional facility-wide disinfection services may be warranted, and;
- High-touch fomites should be monitored and disinfected at an increased rate with a disinfectant registered on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's List-N.
In the event you suspect or have confirmation that a person carrying the SARS-CoV-2 virus has entered the facility:
- Close off the contaminated area.
- Wait as long as possible prior to entering the closed-off area--at least a few hours.
- Increase HVAC airflow into the area and open doors and windows prior to cleaning.
- Only use products on the EPA's List-N.
- Ensure all custodial staff are wearing appropriate protective equipment, including gloves, respirators, and goggles.
- Start with the known contaminated areas the infected person occupied and work your way out from there.
- Clean all surfaces from top to bottom, including ventilation grates, ceiling fixtures, all horizontal surfaces, walls, and the floor.
- Only apply disinfectant after thoroughly cleaning every surface.
The CDC has published additional guidance for spaces that, though they have been contaminated, have remained empty for an extended period.
- Any space contaminated within 24 hours should be cleaned and disinfected prior to re-entry.
- If more than 24 hours have passed and nobody has entered the cordoned-off area, except in certain situations, deep cleaning without additional disinfection is likely all that is necessary.
- If more than 3 days have passed and nobody has entered the cordoned-off space, no additional cleaning outside of standard procedures is required.
References & Resources
Takeaway
The CDC's updated guidance regarding facility cleaning and disinfection reflects the latest available data.
All precautions should be taken to avoid facility contamination and pathogen transmission between facility surfaces and occupants, which requires ongoing training in cross-contamination avoidance.
Eliminating cross-contamination also requires advanced cleaning and disinfection tools commonly unavailable to smaller organizations that also do not have the ability to send their staff home to work.
Outsourcing your organization's custodial requirements, COVID-19 prevention methods, and clean for health protocols will provide your team with proven and highly effective cleaning strategies, the latest tools and technologies, and a staff of trained and experienced professionals requiring little to no oversight.
If you would like more information regarding the effectiveness of high-performance infection prevention and control measures, or if you would like to schedule a free, no-obligation onsite assessment of your facility's custodial needs, contact us today for a free quote!
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In Fresno, CA, call (559) 206-1059
In Valencia CA, or Santa Clarita CA, call (661) 437-3253
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