Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, facility owners have relied on the CDC for additional guidance on how they can best protect their business, employees, and customers. As the virus is analyzed and the ways that it spreads are studied, that guidance has been regularly updated to ensure it abides by the latest scientific findings.
The latest updates to guidance on cleaning and disinfection of facilities as it relates to COVID-19 were released recently, and provide additional information that helps businesses know how to best protect their business.
What Are the New CDC Guidelines for Facilities?
CDC guidance updates for facilities include:
- In most situations, the risk of infection from touching a surface is low.
- Cleaning with products containing soap or detergent helps reduce germs on surfaces and may also weaken or damage some of the virus particles, which decreases risk of infection from surfaces.
- Cleaning a space once a day is enough when no people are confirmed or suspected to have COVID-19. Using EPA-approved List N disinfectants will help kill any remaining germs in the space, reducing the likelihood of spread.
- Disinfection is only recommended in indoor settings, schools, and homes where a suspected COVID-19 case has occurred in the last 24 hours.
- If there has been a sick person or someone who tested positive for COVID-19 in your facility within the last 24 hours, you should clean AND disinfect the space.
The updates to the guidance focus on cleaning and disinfecting needs for businesses that are not healthcare facilities or other facilities which have specific regulations that instruct how cleaning and disinfection must take place, such as manufacturing plants.
How Will the New CDC Guidelines Affect My Cleaning Needs?
While disinfection may appear to be less necessary, consistent cleaning remains critical. The risk of transmission for COVID-19 through surfaces remains a possibility if someone touches an infected area and touches their nose, mouth, or eyes. Knowing if a surface has droplets containing COVID-19 is difficult, and a missed spot while wiping down surfaces could lead to an outbreak.
Cleaning and disinfection continue to be recommended for schools and indoor settings that have had a recent COVID-19 case. Due to ongoing studies testing out the efficacy of the vaccines on people ages 16 and under and the troubling spread of variant B.1.1.7 by this demographic, the needs of janitorial services will remain top of mind for many educational facilities across the United States throughout 2021 and possibly beyond.
However, while the CDC guidelines relax the cleaning requirements for some industries, the guidance to regularly clean and disinfect against COVID-19 remains unchanged for healthcare facilities. Ensuring that high-touch areas are properly disinfected remains a top priority for those who treat patients who may be at increased risk.
In addition, the updated guidance is specific to COVID-19, and does not address other dangerous pathogens, including MRSA that can cause other dangerous health issues to certain demographics. Simply cleaning and disinfecting for one virus is not enough.