How to Respond to a Confirmed COVID-19 Case in Your Facility

In last week's post we discussed strategies for protecting your employees during this outbreak of Covid-19. Following the protocols highlighted within that article will certainly help safeguard the heath of your onsite workforce. Unfortunately, there are no guarantees that your efforts will be 100% effective.

What happens if an employee or visitor brings the Covid-19 virus into your facility? How should you respond to a confirmed case of Covid-19 within your workplace? Here are some best-practices for you to follow:

Identify and Isolate Affected Areas

Once an individual has tested positive for Covid-19, you will need to identify every area within your facility that the individual may have used during the previous few days. If possible, increase air circulation within those areas by opening windows and exterior doors. Also, if possible, close off those infected areas from the rest of the facility. If practical, those areas should be isolated for at least 24 hours to allow for dissipation of any infected airborne respiratory droplets. Once the 24-hour period has expired, cleaning crews can begin the process of cleaning and disinfecting the affected areas.

Cleaning and Disinfection

You probably already have cleaning and disinfecting procedures in place. Having a confirmed case of Covid-19 within your facility is going to require that you incorporate additional processes and extra layers of diligence to those standard procedures. Your post-infection cleaning and disinfection process should include the following steps:

Cleaning High Touch Point Surfaces

You should assume that the infected individual contacted every high touch-point surface within the infected areas. Consequently, all those areas should be thoroughly cleaned with soap and water. Typical high touch point areas would include (but not be limited to) the following:

• Light switches
• Elevator buttons
• Door handles and push plates
• Computers and keyboards
• Counter surfaces
• Handrails
• Sinks and faucets
• Toilets and urinals
• Soap and towel dispensers
• Vending machines
• Kitchen appliances

Proper Disinfection

Once the affected area has been cleaned it must then be disinfected. Proper disinfection is the only way to ensure that the area will be safe for re-opening. Proper disinfection will require strict adherence to the following protocols:

• Always wear gloves as well as other applicable PPE.
• Spray all high touch point surfaces with Oxivir Five 16 or another certified virus-killing disinfectant.
• Allow the Oxivir Five 16 solution to remain on the surface for a full five minutes (i.e. five-minute dwell time).
• Wipe all surfaces with microfiber cloths that have been saturated with the Oxivir solution. Allow to air dry.
• Wash microfiber cloths with soap and water, rinse, wring dry, and hang to air dry.
• Remove and properly dispose of gloves.

It some cases it may be more efficient to apply the Oxivir disinfect using a electrostatic spray disinfection system. This will involve......

• Spraying all high touch point areas from a distance of two to four feet, making sure that all surfaces are saturated.
• Making sure that all surfaces are visibly wet for at least five minutes.
• Allow to air dry. No wiping required.

Click on the link to learn more about SMO's disinfecting services.  We recommend that you consult the CDC for additional information on how to effectively respond to a Covid-19 contamination within your facility.