Covid-19 Building Decontamination

Novel Coronavirus – Covid-19 (nCoV) Decontamination

The 2003 Sars epidemic exploded when an infected healthcare worker, suffering from minor respiratory symptoms, went to Hong Kong for a friend’s wedding and checked into a ninth-floor room in the Metropole Hotel.

He fell severely ill the next day, went to a hospital and died shortly thereafter — but not before transmitting Sars to 16 other guests with rooms on the same floor. These inadvertent hosts carried Sars to Canada, Vietnam, Singapore and across China.

Investigators from the World Health Organization summed it up best: “A global outbreak was thus seeded from a single person on a single day on a single floor of a Hong Kong hotel.” The 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, measles outbreaks in schools and Sars all show that living conditions can play a critical role in the spread of disease.

But if buildings can make things worse, they can also make things better. We don’t fully understand how the new coronavirus is transmitted yet — with the global spread of the Coronavirus everybody has started to become more vigilant about the need to disinfect as well as carry out deep cleaning.

Sadly this virus spreads easily and this is evident from the thousands of infected people in many countries across the world, as well as the deaths that resulted.

Our Coronavirus deep cleaning service is comprehensive. We understand the importance of sanitising properly all surfaces, touch points, floors, any equipment and furniture.

Needless to say this is a rigorous process that calls for expertise, proper tools, and a commitment to be as thorough as possible.

What is the Coronavirus (COVID-19)?

Coronavirus COVID-19 is currently all over the news as it has taken over so many countries. This is essentially a respiratory illness which is being caused by a new virus, for which a vaccine is still being studied.

The first case was reported in Wuhan, China in December 2019. The symptoms include coughing, sore throat, fever and shortness of breath. Some people manage to recover relatively easily while others end up losing their life.

Unfortunately since this is still a new virus, information is rather limited, and research is currently underway to learn more about it. What is a known fact is that the coronavirus COVID-19 can very easily spread from one person to another, and the most important way to fight against it is good hygiene and disinfection.

We also know that the virus can live, in the right conditions for between 5 to 7 days on surfaces where it can then be picked up by human touch. Although not dermally absorbed we tend to touch our own faces many times each day.

This is a route by which the virus will have to infect the body by being able to attach to membrane cells around our eyes, nose and mouth, descending into our respiratory system.

There is evidence that such viruses can spread via large droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes. More broadly, emerging coronaviruses can also be spread through small particles in the air (known as droplet nuclei), through contact with infected surfaces (called fomite transmission) and through a faecal-oral route.

Decontamination

With the current situation Regional Environmental Services will provide a decontamination programme to any companies, public places, work environment, school or premises so as to make sure that there is proper decontamination of all surface areas, equipment, and the disposal of any materials from which the virus could pass on to anyone in the said place.

We make use of protective equipment and specialised tools and methods to carry out extensive decontamination.

Since the risk of infection transmission is high and dependent on various aspects, we do our utmost to decontaminate in a detailed and thorough manner. We are following the applicable rules and guidelines as directed by the UK government and chief medical officer.

We use both general biocides and coronavirus specific products as tested by an independent UKAS accredited facility and world leading virologist demonstrating significant viricidal activity against the virus.

Proper decontamination is critical to safeguard your employees and the public. This applies to both households as well as workplaces and offices. It is critical to sanitise tables, desks, fixtures, doors, and frames. We also place importance on the need to decontaminate office equipment and any appliances such as keyboards, mice, fridges and machinery. The floors will be treated including ledges and skirtings.

In the case of business premises, we will not only decontaminate the offices, but we will also see to the decontamination of common areas such as lifts, stairwells, staff kitchens, reception areas, meeting and board rooms, corridors and lobbies. This is all done at hand touch level within everyday reach of individuals.

Decontamination

We will pay special attention to high contact areas such as bathrooms, rails, door handles, telephones and any equipment.

We will start off by decontamination wiping all surface areas. We do this by preparing a disinfectant solution and using a damp cloth. Spaying or Fogging is also carried out for deep cleaning and decontamination of common areas where there is no sensitive equipment.

Fogging

Chemical fogging: Applying chemical disinfectants to areas as fogs or mists is a method used routinely in the food industry and to areas that have become contaminated with a high concentration of pathogenic material. The purpose is to create and disperse a disinfectant aerosol to reduce the numbers of airborne micro-organisms and to apply disinfectant to surfaces that may be difficult to reach. Fogging is achieved using either a static, purpose-built system in a factory area with strategically placed nozzles or, more commonly, a mobile unit that can be used in a multitude of environments.

The equipment we use supersaturates the atmosphere with a disinfectant fog; the area covered will vary depending on the application system being used. Fogging is carried out for a minimum of 15–30min to enable the fog to disperse and the chemical action to occur. After fogging, an additional period of 45–60min is required to allow the droplets to settle out of the air and onto the surfaces.

Preparation prior to fogging needs to be undertaken. This means covering all sensitive equipment such as computers, isolation of fire alarms and smoke detectors. Signs and barrier tape are used to isolate rooms or areas that are to be fogged. The fog is a very light mist and is often imperceptible. To create a thick fog could be very damaging to internal building equipment and fabrics and so great care must be taken by our operatives during the application of the disinfectant fog to ensure the most effective treatment.

Contact Us to discover more about fogging and our services. 

Infection Prevention Control

Infection prevention control for the coronavirus COVID-19 relies on the need to be as thorough as possible with hygiene, cleaning and disinfection. Cleaning any objects and surface areas often is important.

Washing one’s hands often using soap and water is highly recommended, and one should do this for at least 20 seconds.

It is also imperative that one avoids touching their face, especially the nose, mouth and eyes. It is also critical to avoid close contact with people, especially those who are evidently sick.

Anyone who is not feeling well should stay indoors and seek medical advice.

Contact Us if you have any questions about our Covid-19 treatments.