Hyderabad: The Union Government of India and respective State Governments have taken a decision to relax lockdown norms to ensure businesses return to normalcy and the entire country is expected to be back on the roads and streets for work and other reasons. And this is the time when one must stay extra cautious to ensure they do not contract the deadly coronavirus from carriers.
It is important that while using public places, many precautionary measures must be taken. There is an added responsibility for the people who operate stores and public places to ensure the surroundings are disinfected on a continuous basis. Office spaces, including conference rooms should be cleaned every evening after office hours or early in the morning before the rooms are occupied.
If the contact surface is visibly dirty, it should be cleaned with soap and water prior to disinfection. Prior to cleaning, the worker should wear shoes, disposable gloves, and a triple-layer mask. Gloves should be removed and discarded if damaged, and a new pair wore.
Commenting of the need for extra care, Dr. Arabind Panda, Sr. Consultant Urologist, KIMS Hospitals said, “Covid-19 virus is transmitted in most instances through respiratory droplets, direct contact with cases and also through contaminated surfaces/objects. Though the virus survives on environmental surfaces for a varied period, it gets inactivated by chemical disinfectants.
All indoor areas to a shop or office such as entrance lobbies, corridors, and staircases, escalators, elevators, security guard booths, office rooms, meeting rooms, cafeteria should be mopped with a disinfectant like1% sodium hypochlorite or 7% phenol twice daily. Disinfectants with 70 per cent alcohol can be used to wipe down surfaces where the use of sodium hypochlorite is not suitable, e.g. metal. Benzalkonium Chloride or any other disinfectants found to be effective against coronavirus may be used as per manufacturer’s instructions.
To prevent cross-contamination, discard cleaning material made of cloth (mop and wiping cloth) inappropriate bags after cleaning and disinfecting. All disposable PPE should be removed and discarded after cleaning activities are completed, preferably in a well-ventilated room.
The outer surface of the protective equipment should be folded inwards without touching it; and hands should be washed with soap and water immediately after each piece of PPE is removed, following completion of cleaning. Masks are effective if worn according to instructions and properly fitted. It is important not to touch the masks or the face. Disposable masks should be discarded if they become physically damaged or soaked. Reusable cloth masks should be washed daily with detergents and water and then dried thoroughly before being resued.