Following several chats amongst friends and family, it became clear there is a split between people. Those who believe that once we have the vaccine for covid, normality will be resumed. The other half realise, like flu, covid will mutate and create new variants regularly which we will have to deal with.
One thing we have to realise is covid won’t just go away because we now have a vaccine. Each year there will be new variants/strains, which will require a new vaccine to combat it. This means we have to learn to live with it and the problems it brings. The big question is how to live with it.
How is Covid Spread
- Airborne, through sneezing, coughing and talking, where droplets are propelled into the air and land on someone’s mouth, nose or are inhaled into the lungs
- By touching a surface or object that has droplets on and then touching their own mouth, nose or eyes
In order to learn to live with covid we need to put sustainable measures in place.
How easy is it to stop the spread by Airborne
Well, one way to do this is to stick with the current measures of face masks, social distancing, screens, isolation and maximum capacity in venues. To some this may not be a problem, but for many, we want to see the end of these measures. Therefore, other elements which can reduce airborne transmission include particle filtration, air disinfection and avoiding air recirculation. These measures are obtainable and would significantly reduce airborne transmission within an indoor setting.
How easy is it to stop the spread via surfaces/objects
This is very different and there are several measures out there which can do this. The most important aspect to look into here is what is achievable that can be sustained going forward. The word sustainable looks at cost, time to implement, frequency, kill rate, environmental impact etc.
Cleaning 6 times a day is not going to do this. Although it gives employees and customers a sense of confidence, it is actually providing a false sense of security. It is like covering a hole with leaves in a storm, it will mask the problem for a few minutes and then it will be opened up again.
Unless you can clean after each person has used a door handle, walked up some stairs, used the kitchen etc, then those surfaces/items will be prone to contact spreading. A virus can remain on a hard surface for a few days, and although its most contagious within a few hours, this is more than enough time for multiple people to have touched the same item/surface.
The best option to prevent “contact spreading” is an antimicrobial coating. An antimicrobial coating provides optimum results. It’s extremely cost effective, lasts for 90 days, can be applied and dried in minutes, limiting any operational disruption, works on all materials, and it provides the equivalent protection of disinfectant being sprayed every 5 minutes. It provides optimum protection with limited environmental concerns. You can learn more about antimicrobial coatings here: https://infectprotect.uk/
The Future
Whatever happens, the world will be a very different place. We should use the bad times to learn from and move forward in a much better position than we were. This is a chance to do that, to learn to live with covid but use it to our advantage and create a cleaner, more hygienic living and working environment.
