3 WAYS TO PROTECT YOUR CUSTOMERS FROM COVID-19
COVID-19. It’s the topic that our entire world has been focused on for the better part of 2020.
And while it’s a topic that’s polarizing for many, we’d like to simply address 3 ways you can protect your employees and customers from COVID-19, and other viruses as well.
We hope these incredibly simple insights help you keep your doors open, keeping everyone involved safe and healthy.
Create a procedure.
The CDC recommends that each business plan, prepare and respond when it comes to viral outbreaks like COVID-19. Simply put, you should create a health procedure. However, since every business is different, start with these three questions first.
What type of procedure is specific to my workplace?
What areas and job tasks have potential exposure to viruses?
How can we control / limit / reduce such exposures?
Obviously, these questions don’t create a full procedure. However, they are intended to get your business thinking in terms of intentionality and relevance to your business. From a tangible standpoint, here are a few things you might implement:
Daily employee health checks.
Conducting a hazard assessment of the workplace.
Encouraging employees to wear cloth face coverings in the workplace.
Implementing policies and practices for social distancing in the workplace.
Improving the building ventilation system.
Cleaning & sanitizing routinely.
One final thing to remember is that no procedure is 100% perfect right away. So, just start one. And let conversations with your team, insights from health organizations (CDC and WHO) and new insights about viruses impact your changes.
Understand cleaning & disinfecting.
The single most important thing you can do to help prevent, and in some cases eliminate viruses within your workplace is to clean and sanitize properly. Keep in mind, cleaning is the removal of dirt and germs from a surface, and disinfecting is the process of killing germs using chemicals. It’s important that you understand that both are necessary and work together in order to thoroughly clean.
Additionally, when it comes to using disinfectants, there is an important term that every business owner should understand: dwell time. Dwell time, or contact time, is the amount of time disinfectants need to remain wet on surfaces to properly disinfect and kill germs. If not given the proper amount of dwell time, the disinfectant won’t be effective. And dwell times range from 30 seconds to 10 minutes. So, be sure you know what dwell time your disinfectant requires before purchasing.
As a resource, the CDC has a great list of disinfectant solutions that list the appropriate dwell times (contact times). You can find that here.
Protect from respiratory contamination.
Viruses spread via touch, sexual contact, saliva, coughing or sneezing, and through food and water. So, it’s important that at the workplace you protect yourself and others from respiratory contamination. A few ways to do that include:
Wearing masks: Wearing masks helps protect you from coming into contact with outside viruses, but it also protects others if you’re already infected. By controlling the amount of respiratory droplets leaving our mouths and nose (and those we take in), we limit the amount of contact we all have with each other.
Implementing sneeze guards: Sneeze guards work in the same way as masks, yet are more practical long term ( once mask mandates are lifted). These walls, designed as a shield between individuals, use durable clear marine grade vinyl to protect your employees and customers. You can learn more about some of the products we’ve built here.
Cleaning effectively: Like we mentioned above, it’s important to understand how cleaning and disinfecting work together. While this may not seem relevant to respiratory contamination, it’s important to remember that viruses can live on different surfaces for some time (in some cases, days). Thus, proper cleaning and disinfecting is crucial for organizations; especially those with high traffic.
While COVID-19 is the current topic, viruses (and other germs) come in all shapes and sizes. By implementing these 3 simple solutions, you can better protect your employees and customers.
Keeping everyone safe and healthy.
And ultimately your business.
-Canvas Craft Team