With coronavirus in the news, many people are wondering what they can do to protect themselves from infectious disease. Of those many types of diseases that can affect humans, perhaps none is more common than infectious diseases. Defined by the World Health Organization, infectious diseases are “any pathogenic microorganisms that can be spread directly or indirectly from one person to another.” Thankfully, most of what we know about infectious diseases like influenza, tuberculosis, norovirus and even the common cold are applicable across the board.
TouchPoints & Hot Spots Are Critical to the Health of Your Workplace
Our staff will be targeting hot spots and touchpoints in your building to maximize the effectiveness of their services. Cleaning done on elevator buttons, railings, desks, door handles, phones, and light switches is inherently more valuable in the defense of disease than baseboard for example. Frequently touched areas, or “touchpoints” are havens for disease-causing bacteria to spread to everyone in your building, thus becoming potential “hot spots.” Targeting these areas is the first step in reducing the risk of illness in your office.
Hand Washing & Why It Matters
The most common-sense solution is one of the most effective: wash your hands frequently with hot water and soap. Your hands are the perfect medium to move pathogens from frequently touched surfaces to frequently touched surfaces. Hands and fingers move from mouth to nose to food and surfaces and all back again creating a perfect germ spreading machine. According to the CDC, viruses and certain bacteria, types can live on your hands for up to five minutes and on hard surfaces for nearly two days. Five minutes may not seem like a lot, but it is more than enough time to get whatever is on your hands to somewhere it can get someone sick. The solution is simple: wash your hands before and after eating, using the restroom, touching a high contact surface or whenever you have a chance. It might seem overkill but nothing does more to combat office illness than regular hand washing.
These steps along with having alcohol-based hand sanitizer available for your staff and encouraging employees to stay home if they are sick should greatly decrease the spread and buildup germs and the spread of harmful diseases.