Chances are someone you know has been hit with a respiratory infection this year. It may have been Covid; it may have been the flu, or it may have been RSV, the acronym for respiratory syncytial virus. Since last summer, cases of RSV have been spiking, from approximately 800 in June to more than 14,000 in November. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the 2022-23 flu season is shaping up to be the worst in a decade. And Covid remains a significant health threat, as cases rise with the change of seasons and the appearance of new subvariants. The three illnesses are now being referred to as a “tripledemic.”
People everywhere are being reminded that illnesses can spread everywhere, including the workplace. For building services contractors like AffinEco, the focus on keeping offices and common areas clean and safe is as important as ever.
“We have worked diligently over the past few years to make sure surfaces like doorknobs, railings and countertops are cleaned often, so we can help minimize the spread of germs and viruses in the buildings that we service,” said AffinEco President Paul Senecal.
The CDC believes all three of the tripledemic illnesses are spread by droplets that float through the air and come to rest on surfaces. The CDC has reported RSV droplets can survive for many hours on hard surfaces, and we already know that the flu virus can live for 24 to 48 hours on hard surfaces. AffinEco’s cleaning crews are trained to pay significant attention to high touchpoints –
like door and faucet handles, handrails, light switches, elevator buttons, phones, and keyboards – in the time allotted for cleaning. Those areas, plus desktops, break room surfaces and handles are routinely wiped with disinfecting cloths.
And, while cleaning is a critically important piece of overall illness prevention, the CDC is again reminding people about the importance of handwashing. AffinEco team members are hanging posters in building lavatories that detail when and how to wash hands. “Keeping hands clean is one of the most important things we can do to stop the spread of germs and stay healthy,” the CDC poster states.
“We have to work together to prevent the spread of illness. That means washing hands and paying attention to guidance from local health departments regarding when to stay home and when to wear a mask,” said Senecal. “And it means doing the best job we can to make the workplace safe and healthy.