Within the next few weeks, several hundred thousand schools across the U.S. will reopen for in-person education, and to no one's surprise, COVID-19 and facility sanitation and safety top the list of concerns for the new school year.
Facility Cleanliness Top COVID Fears for the New School Year
Schools across the country, if they have not already, will open their doors to in-person education for the first time since quarantine and shelter in place orders went out several months ago.
August is officially back to school month, and with the ongoing cloud of COVID-19 hanging over everyone and everything, many teachers, students, parents, and educational support staff are concerned about the district's ability to protect their health and safety.
The COVID-19 outbreak has significantly increased interest in advanced touchless cleaning and sanitization technologies, specifically electrostatic and non-electrostatic sprayers--but which is best suited for your facility?
Comparing Electrostatic and Non-Electrostatic sanitization Appliances
In the wake of the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, many school administrators, facility managers, and business owners have taken a keen interest in technologies that increase custodial efficiency, facility hygiene, and occupant safety.
The rapid spread of the COVID-19 outbreak has led to a rise in demand for enhanced cleaning and sanitization services that reduce the amount of time required to thoroughly sanitize a surface while protecting the health and safety of custodial service providers and building service contractors.
Due to the extraordinary measures undertaken by schools, businesses, consumers, and custodial workers, some medical professionals are issuing early predictions--somewhat validated--regarding a significantly reduced impact from the 2020-2021 influenza season.
Access to public toilets and restrooms is vital for the health and wellbeing of facility occupants and customers. Still, with the ongoing lockdowns in place, many businesses have opted to deny access to even paying customers.
COVID-19 and the Concern Regarding the Cleanliness of Commodes
Before the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak, public restroom cleanliness and hygiene ranked highly among restaurant diners, hospitality guests, and other business consumers--the absence of which could result in a loss of business to competitors, and a slew of online and word of mouth complaints regarding perceptions of management competence and social intelligence.
As COVID-19 cases continue to fluctuate throughout the country, it is increasingly vital that schools and businesses adopt a strategic plan for enhanced cleaning and infection prevention and control measures in the office and classroom.
Strategically Increasing Enhanced Cleaning in the Workplace
In order to end the lockdowns and return to business as usual, an emphasis must be placed on strategic enhanced cleaning measures in line with guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) combined with occupant communication, targeted touchpoint sanitization services, and workforce training.
As the summer rapidly comes to a close, questions still loom as to whether or not schools and universities can, let alone should, reopen to students and staff amid the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.
Safely Reopening Schools And Universities
The summer is winding down and it appears that, statistically, the SARS-CoV-2 virus is as well.
The ongoing COVID-19 outbreak has led many individuals to over or incorrectly use several dangerous cleaning and sanitization products--among them, liquid hand sanitizers, which may have little effect on the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Safe Hand Sanitizer Use During COVID-19
Reports have recently surfaced regarding numerous hospitalizations and several deaths as a result of consuming hand sanitizer containing methanol.
Recent evidence suggests the possibility that SARS-CoV-2 may spread through the air in an aerosolized form, potentially complicating the greatly anticipated reopening of schools and businesses.
Addressing the Potential for the Airborne Transmission of SARS-CoV-2
First, before we begin, a point of note--all current studies and subsequent recommendations regarding COVID-19 are incomplete, will likely take years to unpack fully, and are intended by far and large to protect the public welfare.