The world is back, but that doesn’t mean regular, ongoing hygienic commercial cleaning services for your Pittsburgh business should be relaxed. Discover why deep cleaning and restroom hygiene services are still vital post-Covid!
Perhaps the most frightening aspects of Covid-19 and its aftermath is the fact that it represents a global medical emergency that we do not, despite all our modern scientific advances, fully understand.
While its ebb and flow is tenuously under control, or at least much more so than it was two years ago because of vaccines, due diligence in protecting commercial spaces performed by our experts at Enviro-Master Pittsburgh and improved understanding of its ramifications, there are still a host of new challenges to consider and old considerations that cannot be discarded.
Technically, recovery has already begun, but results have been unbalanced at best.
There are a number of sign posts to observe to ensure that you, your home and your business, whatever it may be, is protected as much as possible from the terrible impact of Covid 19.
A Few Relevant Statistics
According to a recent study, Covid-19 was the most common cause of death between March 2020 and October, 2021.
In 2021, it was the leading cause of death in adults aged 45-54; the second for the age group, 35-44 and the fourth for those among 15-34 years of age.
Within the United States alone, more than 9 million people have lost a close relative to Covid-19.
Some Things To Continue To Remember About Covid
Health authorities warn that one should never assume they are immune from the virus even if they have had a confirmed diagnosis in the past.
According to Roy Chemaly MD: “We’ve already seen at least four different variants…crop up in the last two years. Some have caused worse disease than others, but one consistent feature of all of the variants is that they have become more adept at evading our bodies’ defenses. So even if you had severe case of an earlier strain and… are keeping up with vaccinations and booster shots, which are all vitally important for a full recovery…, other circulating variants can still infect you. And brand new variants may still be on the horizon.”
Keep up the recommended CDC Covid-19 precautions to prevent possible reinfection.
This includes: wearing a mask when in large enclosed places, physical distancing and washing hands.
Equally important is the pressing need to disinfect your business under the auspices of our caring professionals at Enviro-Master.
This will protect employees from any stray virus droplets that might be lingering on certain surfaces in any commercial environment.
A Few New Considerations About Covid
According to PHD, MPH, MMWR author, Greta Massetti: “We’re in a stronger place today as a nation, with more tools—like vaccination, boosters, and treatments—to protect ourselves, and our communities, from…COVID-19,. We also have a better understanding of how to protect people from being exposed to the virus, like wearing high-quality masks, testing, and improved ventilation. This guidance acknowledges that the pandemic is not over, but also helps us move to a point where COVID-19 no longer severely disrupts our daily lives.”
Just about everyone hoped that once we did everything the CDC advised that it would all go away. Alas, for here we are with the realization that the world can never return to what it once was. The lock downs of 2020 were actions that most of us had never before experienced in our lifetimes.
Almost three years later, we are still getting booster shots, side-stepping and breathing heavily to avoid relapse and those other variants that seem to jump out at every corner. It’s an endless nightmare in which the dreaded virus is always a few steps ahead of everything we do.
The passage from pandemic to epidemic concerns our behavior and psychology just as much as an understanding of the virus itself.
It is well known that the virus spreads when an infected person discharges droplets of saliva whenever they cough, sneeze or speak.
These infected beads easily enter the mouths and noses of others, which is why masks have been so important. Infection can also occur from touching infected surfaces followed by touching eyes, noses or mouths.
Washing hands frequently and not touching faces can help us win the fight against this dangerous virus.
How Has Covid-19 Altered The Post Pandemic Workplace?
One of the most disturbing realizations about the post-pandemic period has been the unexpected focus on mental health that has magnified within the work force.
The shift from office to home and schooling our children from home, as well as unexpected caregiver responsibilities, have brought about new stresses to already over burdened employees.
A one-size-fits-all approach to providing employee benefits will not work anymore, and employers have been forced to reevaluate how they can foster the emotional and social well being of their employees as well as their physical safety and well being.
While one might not ordinarily think so, the post pandemic has brought about a new realization on the part of employers as to what it really means to keep workers safe and productive.
A brick and mortar business, for example, that might be forced to go digital in order to survive, may now face cyber threats, and restaurants that have no alternative but to close their doors to diners have transitioned to a take out and delivery business model.
The decision to return to work and the onset of a realm of new and somewhat scary normalcy translates into working side by side with the needs of each state and community business owner. And accepting the fact that commerce as it once was, will never be again.
In the words of Dr. Timothy Brewer, professor of epidemiology at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health: “We don’t necessarily have to come up with new interventions. It’s just that have to do a better job continuing to do the things that we know to work.”
The federal coronavirus task force has created a set of guidelines of businesses to follow, but no one-size fits-all will ever work in this instance.
However, some things are sacrosanct; namely; reducing the risks of exposure and general safety measures, which are always primary concerns for everyone coping with the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The CDC recommendations in combination with state guidelines can work in tandem so that each business can develop a safety agenda that works for them specifically.
Some of the new regulations include: the types of businesses that can open and when; capacity limits for restaurants and retail establishments; guidelines for physical distancing and specific disinfection protocols.
For Pittsburgh businesses, calling in our professionals at Enviro-Master and employing our protocols and products can help make a work environment safe and speed openings along.
According to the Center For Disease Control And Prevention (CDC), some of the most important considerations for businesses are the following:
Routine Cleaning With Soap And Water
Disinfect commonly touched surfaces with products approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to kill viruses like the one that causes COVID-19. Use bleach solutions if none are available.
Practice Social Distancing
This component is just one piece of the puzzle, but it is important in certain settings that may not have proper or sufficient ventilation.
Wear Protective Face Coverings
While no one will ever argue that this practice is a pain in places too polite to mention, it is an important tool in our arsenal that helps to combat the aftermath of Covid 19 and its subsequent variants.
Wash Hands Frequently Or Use Hand Sanitizer
It is important to not only wash your hands often during the average day but also at those times when you are most likely to spread and receive germs.
These include: before, during and after preparing food and eating; caring for someone who is sick; before and after treating a wound; using the toilet, changing diapers or cleaning up after a child has used the toilet; after handling pet food or treats; touching garbage; handling an animal, animal feed or waste and following blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing.
Restroom Hygiene Solutions For Pittsburgh Businesses
Our top priority is and always has been to create a healthy and happy workplace ambiance for a myriad of diverse industries including: daycare and summer camps, hospitality; schools and colleges; health care facilities; restaurant and food-related services; shopping and apartment complexes and many others.
In continuous operation since 1983, our mission and focus remains the same; namely, To build a healthier world, one restroom at a time.
We are considered the world’s leading provider of hygiene services for public restrooms and their continued success derives both from their superior, cost-effective products and stellar customer service.
Going that extra mile for our customers is always par for the course when it comes to restroom cleaning and our hygiene services, as our job always begins after a custodial staff has gone home.
Our extensive array of products, which are 100% sustainable, are geared specifically towards public restrooms of any size.
They include but are not limited to: tile and grout cleaning, deep fixture cleaning and electrostatic disinfecting applications, which target specific surfaces by placing a positive or negative charge on the disinfectant itself as it leaves the spray nozzle.
Our strategies and solutions are cost-effective, as the sale of low cost soaps, paper and cleaning products often offset the price of their cleaning services.
The only effective maintenance solution to protecting bathrooms from the pathogens that cause 19 and other dangerous infections is scheduled cleanings that can prevent the build up of foul odors, and maintain floor drains that serve as a means to wash them away.
Call our teams today and rest easy that your business, employees and customers will be safe from the ravages of Covid 19.
While we can be happy that things are much better, we still have, as the poet, Robert Frost once wrote, “many miles to go before we can sleep.”
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