Two simple ways to stop COVID-19 at your entrances

COVID-19 and its resultant lock-downs have shut the world down for the last month (at least!)  But the coronavirus hasn’t put a permanent end to life in public spaces – more and more provincial governments are slowly rolling out their plans and timelines for relaunch in the next few weeks.  As customers, clients, tenants, and residents return to public spaces, they are going to be looking for reassurances that these areas are safe to be in – and that building operators are doing their part to safeguard their health through proper cleaning and disinfecting surfaces.  As part of this gradual return to normalcy building operators will have to control access to their public spaces to limit the number of people inside and to maintain social distancing.

Building operators can turn this necessary controlled access into an advantage in continuing to win the fight against COVID-19 because they can concentrate their disinfecting efforts at only the specific doorways and entrances that they open.  Two simple, effective ways to protect people and project that sense of comfort and safety is to combat virus transmission at the two biggest touchpoints in public spaces: hands and feet.

#1: Hand Sanitizer stations

Freestanding hand sanitizer stations make it easy for your customers and employees to fight germs and bacteria before they enter your building.  The Centre for Disease Control recommends washing hands with soap and water whenever possible because handwashing reduces the amounts of all types of germs and chemicals on hands.  But in circumstances like a building entrance where soap and water are not available, using a hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol can help avoid spreading germs and bacteria inside a building.  Although alcohol-based hand sanitizers can inactivate many types of microbes very effectively when used correctly, people may not use a large enough volume of sanitizer or may wipe it off before it has dried.

#2: Sanitizing Mats

Hand sanitizer stations take care of one of our transmission vectors – and a sanitizing mat can take care of the second at the same time.  Using a sanitizing mat system (like Grizzly Sanitize) as part of your controlled entrance disinfecting protocol can kill virus particles and bacteria on the soles of shoes before they enter your public spaces.  The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention recently published a study showing that shoes can spread the coronavirus to new areas; killing the virus before it can enter your building can help prevent that spread.

While hand sanitizer stations and sanitizing mats can’t provide 100% protection against COVID-19, they can go a long way towards reducing viral transmission in your buildings…and give your customers, clients, residents, and tenants a sense of security that you’re doing your part as a responsible building operator with an emphasis on safety.