The COVID-19 outbreak has led to the closure of numerous schools and businesses throughout California, leaving many facility managers and business owners weighing their options on how to ensure a safe working and learning environment once the shelter-in-place order is lifted.

For the past 25 years, National Public Health Week has been a time set aside to recognize the contribution of public health workers and raise awareness regarding important issues that directly impact the public's health.

Celebrating National Public Health Week 2020
This year's National Public Health Week fell on April 6th through April 12th, while many of us were quarantined in our homes due to a state-wide shelter-in-place order as a result of one of the most significant public health issues of our time--the COVID-19 pandemic.

As shelter in place orders take effect across the country, many businesses--deemed essential--remain open amid risks of facility contamination and occupant exposure.

Preventing COVID-19 Exposure
For businesses that remain open during the state-wide quarantine, protecting employee health is of paramount concern.

Surface cleaning and sanitization is a critical component of a healthy and hygienic facility--ensuring the safety and wellbeing of building occupants all year long.

The Importance of Surface Cleaning and sanitizing All Year Long
If one lesson can be taken away from the past few weeks, it is that we have been lax in our hygiene and the cleanliness of the facilities we regularly occupy.

With the advance of COVID-19 paranoia taking over the lines and aisles at grocery stores, cleaning and sanitization efforts must increase to combat the rise in foot traffic and prevent the potential spread of illness.

How to Clean a Grocery Store
As of 2018, the grocery store industry was a more than $700 billion per year business, boasting employment numbers well at 4.8 million.

COVID-19 has a great deal in common with the Rhinovirus--the source of the common cold--including prevention and control measures.

Preventing COVID-19 and Other Viral Outbreaks
COVID-19 is one of three, maybe four coronavirus strains to jump from animal to humans while maintaining the ability to spread from human to human--two well known past examples being MERS and SARS.

Coronaviruses, the Rhinovirus, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), and Parainfluenza are responsible for the vast majority of colds around the world, though each peak during a different part of the season--coronaviruses more commonly occurring during the winter and spring, while rhinovirus infections peak during early fall, spring, and summer.

Cleaning elementary schools is challenging under the best of circumstances, but with virulent outbreaks stacking up on top of each other and schools closing left and right, stepping up the quality and frequency of school cleaning, as well as infection prevention and control services, is more critical than ever.

College dorms are hotbeds for the spread of germs, mold, mildew, and bacteria, and with the constant high foot traffic while classes are in session, they present a series of significant challenges for building services contractors and facilities maintenance and management teams.

For those businesses and school administrators concerned with the potential for COVID-19 to spread throughout their facility, we offer a few quick cleaning tips and advice regarding personal hygiene.

Coronavirus Cleaning Tips
In recent news, the F5 tower in Seattle, WA was voluntarily closed for cleaning and sanitization services after it was discovered that one of their staff members came into contact with an individual confirmed to carry the COVID-19 virus.

Maintaining a clean and hygienic restaurant inside and out is mandatory for owning and operating a healthy and profitable establishment.

High-Performance Cleaning Stops Restaurant Pests
Pest and rodent infestations are big problems for restaurant owners and managers--leading to potential fines, closures, and loss of reputation, all of which result in lost profits.