Coronavirus – Safeguarding Your Facility

Thursday, February 27, 2020   Care, Commercial, Hospitality, News, Property, Uncategorised

There’s been a lot of opinion, some mis-information, and a bit of panic about the Coronavirus in the news. Most experts agree that rapid growth in the number of confirmed cases in Australia is inevitable, and that it’s a question of WHEN not IF widespread self-isolation will occur.

What Can You Do NOW to protect Your Customers, Staff Residents and guests?

Apart from adhering to standard safe-hygiene practices (thorough and regular hand washing, using alcohol-based hand sanitiser, practicing social distancing), and standard site cleaning practices, how can you prevent your facility or venue from become a hotbed of virus transmission?

One of the most important aspects of infection control is sanitising common touch points. Light switches, lift buttons, door handles, hand rails, door frames… all of the places where fingers can transfer bacteria and viruses or where airborne particles can land. Early research from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease in the US (as of 18/03/20) indicates the virus can live up to 72 hours on plastic and stainless steel, 24 hours on cardboard and 4 hours on copper. (The research was conducted at an average room temperature of 20-22 degrees Celsius; times could be longer in higher temp or high humidity environments.) This means that stringent touch point hygiene protocols should be put in place, particularly in venues where vulnerable populations are found.

At a minimum, if you believe your facility is at risk, contact us to institute regular infection control cleans. This is generally beyond the standard scope of works as it involves using TGA-registered disinfectants, utilising disposable cleaning materials, and an increased frequency of touch point disinfection. We can provide staff to do this on a continuous basis at your facility. Please note that cleaners disinfect common touch points as part of their standard cleaning regime, however please check the scope of works for your site to see if disinfecting ALL touch points is currently included in your cleaning regime.

If you’ve had a confirmed case at your site, you will require a full ‘bleach down’ or fumigation to eliminate the virus on all surfaces. This is an additional service we can provide, and we have trained teams on standby.

If you’d like to discuss this with us, please contact our Contracts Manager, or our National Operations Manager Tony, to have a chat. Feel free to call Tony on 0417 349 255. If you require additional cleaning, please contact Tony, or our Natl Sales Manager, Carolyn on 0417 346 847. You can also email our dedicated infection control email: acwassist@teamacw.com.au

We can conduct a complete audit of your site to determine which touch points need to be sanitised and at which frequency. In this way, you can work towards preventing an outbreak, or at the very least mitigating risk if one occurs at your site. This is a free service we offer to everyone – you don’t have to be an existing client to take this up. Please get in touch if you’d like more info.