Prepare your Workspace for Coronavirus Disease 2019

By now we are all in tune with the news and the spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).  Because this new strain of Coronavirus was only first identified in December of 2019, we do not yet have a vaccine in place to help prevent the spread, so the best way to prevent spread is to prevent exposure, which might mean not attending or canceling large-scale events or limiting travel. We are all experiencing the downfall of that with events like our beloved SXSW being canceled here in Austin, Texas.

Over the last week, we have received multiple requests for what companies can do to better prepare their facility or work spaces and as with any respiratory virus, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) is the best asset in terms of how we can keep our workplaces safe. Here are a few of their recommendations:

• Practice Good Hygiene, which would include things like:
  • Thorough and frequent hand-washing and disinfecting stations at entryways
  • Avoid touching your face and shaking hands with others
  • Cover your mouth & nose when you sneeze or cough
  • Disinfect surfaces like doorknobs, desks, tables and handrails regularly
  • Adjust ventilation like opening windows or adjusting the AC
• Be Careful with Meetings & Travel
  • Use videoconferencing for meetings when available
  • Assess the risk of business travel
• Handle Food Carefully
  • Limit Food Sharing
  • Strengthen health screening and hygiene for cafeteria staff
• Encourage employees to Stay Home if:
  • They are feeling sick
  • Have sick family members

And if you need help, we are here for you. Certain hospital-grade disinfectants work better to kill the virus and we are already using those in many of our office spaces. While the virus can live on surfaces for several hours up to a few days, it’s incredibly important that your space is being thoroughly cleaned, wiped down and disinfected more regularly.

Many of our clients have already reached out and the two items we can be most helpful in are the following:

1. We can provide additional and/or more frequent services temporarily to do things like disinfect surface areas more frequently – if this is something you are interested in, email us at operations@austincleaning.net
2. We can help you install disinfecting stations at entryways to further promote good hygiene within the workplace (assuming availability at time of request)

We are here to help where we can so please reach out if you have questions or concerns that we can address.