For many people, the recent holidays didn’t feature the large family get-togethers they did in years past. In fact, for many, it felt like a replica of December 2020, when even masks and social distancing weren’t enough. Meanwhile, for those specializing in commercial cleaning services, it meant another holiday of amplified attention to infection prevention.
How, one year and several available vaccines later, could SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, still be splitting up gatherings and calling for intensified cleaning and disinfecting protocols? The answer is Omicron.
About Omicron
Omicron emerged from South Africa just shortly after its predecessor, Delta, was first discovered in India. The good news is symptoms of Omicron are believed to be milder than the earlier variants, especially for those who are fully vaccinated. Yet preliminary findings suggest Omicron’s incubation period is far shorter than those of the other variants, with infected persons showing symptoms in as few as three days. Although the World Health Organization is unsure if Omicron is more transmissible, other sources appear convinced the newest variant spreads faster than the earlier versions. Finally, even those who are vaccinated and/or don’t have symptoms can be carriers of the Omicron virus.
COVID Omicron Commercial Cleaning Services Best Practices
Understandably, Omicron’s debut has many employees feeling less than confident that their workplaces will provide them with a clean, healthy environment. Meanwhile, facility owners and managers are struggling with how to ensure their facilities are healthy and make sure building occupants feel safe. Again, there is good news: The lessons learned about cleaning and disinfecting to protect against SARS-CoV-2 apply to safeguarding against the new Omicron variant. With this in mind, making sure your cleaning services provider follows the procedures below will help ensure your facility is safe.
Clean first. As always when disinfecting, surfaces should be cleaned first to remove any dirt and debris that might prevent the disinfectant from reaching and killing the virus.
Choose the proper disinfectant. The cleaning service providers should use a disinfectant listed on the EPA List N that has been proven effective against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Top to bottom. According to a rule followed by all reputable commercial cleaning services, surfaces should be cleaned from the top—higher shelves, cabinets, counters—to the bottom—lower shelves, baseboards, and floors. This prevents recontamination of already cleaned surfaces.
High-touch points. Frequently touched surfaces, such as light switches and doorknobs, should be disinfected several times daily. Devices such as security keypads, self-checkout stations, and computer keyboards should be disinfected following each individual’s use if possible.
PPE and distancing. Even for those who are vaccinated and have received the booster shot, wearing masks and maintaining social distancing are recommended, especially in crowded areas.
If COVID Omicron Strikes
If your facility has a confirmed or suspected case or outbreak of COVID Omicron, immediately contact your preferred cleaning company with expertise in infection prevention and COVID-19 prevention protocols, such as Servicon.
Servicon’s Ultimate Protect & Disinfect service employs terminal cleaning. This disinfection method is used in hospital operating rooms where the highest level of infection prevention is mandatory. The Ultimate Protect and Disinfect uses electrostatic technology to disinfect surfaces with surgical-grade cleaning techniques and disinfectants approved by the EPA to be effective against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, including all variants that cause COVID-19.
To add an extra layer of protection, the service includes hospital-grade air purifiers installed by Servicon’s certified infection-prevention team. These medical-grade HEPA air purifiers are proven to remove up to 95% of all airborne contaminants as small as 0.1 microns. A recent study published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services shows that HEPA air purifiers reduced aerosol COVID-19 exposure in a conference room by up to 65%. Wearing masks and using HEPA filters reduced the exposure rate by 90%.
COVID Omicron Commercial Cleaning Services Near Me
If you have had a confirmed case of COVID-19 or want to take extra precautions to ensure your facility is clean, healthy, and safe, learn more about Servicon’s Ultimate Protect and Disinfect service or contact a Servicon infection-prevention professional today.
