REDUCING CORONA VIRUS SPREAD THROUGH SURFACE CONTAMINATION

The world has been in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic for a while, and we have had to adjust our lives to this new norm. 

While everything may appear to be getting  under control, there is still a lot we don't know about the virus, and we should not become complacent. 

Recent happenings and reports have shown that the virus is mutating and more variants are springing up. The new variants  have proven to be more aggressive, and this has drastically increased the risk of another outbreak of the virus, as seen recently in Brisbane, Australia. 

The reports show that this latest coronavirus outbreak at the Chancellor on the Park quarantine hotel in Brisbane resulted from surface contamination. 

According to the report, a man traveled to Australia from the UK via Doha, Qatar where he contracted the virus, and infected his partner who was quarantined with him. 

The couple spread the virus to the hotel cleaner even though there was no physical contact. However, according to reports, the cleaner cleaned an adjoining room to that of the couple on the seventh level of the Brisbane hotel the previous day, contracting the virus through contaminated surfaces. 

While the primary means of contracting the coronavirus is airborne, there is also a significant risk of contracting the virus through contaminated surfaces. At this point, it's imperative to understand this new variants process of transmission via contaminated surfaces. 

A recent study by CSIRO into the role of surface transmission in the spread of Covid-19 has revealed the timeframe for the survival of the coronavirus on six common surfaces at three different temperatures. 

The Role of Contaminated Surfaces in the Transmission of Covid-19

Several studies revealed that surfaces such as bank ATMs, mobile phones with touchscreen, self-check-in points, and staircase handles are all potential surfaces that can transmit viruses.

CSIRO studied how long the coronavirus survived on six different but common surfaces. The surfaces included glass, stainless steel, vinyl, paper, and cotton cloth, and polymer banknotes. They considered these surfaces to have a high potential of touch from several people. 

They considered the glass for its common use in self-check-in points and phone touchscreens. The manufacturer of doorknobs uses stainless steel in most cases, while rails and bus seats mostly come from vinyl, and cotton for its common use for clothing and bedding.

CSIRO’s research was carried out at three different temperature points, which were 20°C, 30°C, and 40°C. The results of the experiment showed that the virus survived up to 28 days on non-porous surfaces such as glass, stainless steel, vinyl, polymer banknotes, and paper at 20°C. At the same temperature, the virus survived for only 14 days on cotton, which is a non-porous surface. 

At 30°C, the virus survived for only seven days on glass, polymer banknotes, and stainless steel. While it survived for only three days on cotton cloth and vinyl. At 40°C, the virus survived for about 24 hours on glass, paper, stainless steel, cases, and polymer notes. While it was active on vinyl for 48 hours, and only 16 hours on cotton cloth. 

Further studies showed that the virus can last longer in cold environments, less than 20°C. For owners and managers of cold facilities, the need to become even more stringent with disinfecting is more than ever. 

The Process of transmission 

Although the primary way of spreading this virus is via respiratory droplets in the air, research and recent happenings have shown that contaminated surfaces also pose a tremendous risk.

However, the process of transmission is not the same, as the virus does not penetrate the skin directly. Unlike the airborne means of transmission that can go into the system directly through the mouth or nose, surface transmission still needs a person to touch their nose, eyes, and mouth with the infected area of the skin, for effectiveness. 

Therefore, the need to continually disinfect surfaces is more important now than ever. This is even more important in workplaces and other places with continuous movement of people. 

What is the best way to prevent surface contamination infection? 

Businesses have generally been very diligent with regular touch point cleaning. However, the risk is what happens in between cleans and the non sustainable cleaning costs involved.

The coronavirus can stay active up to 28 days on a surface, and traditional disinfectants cannot overcome this issue. 

The solution is to use a disinfectant which delivers ongoing residual protection, with no gaps in coverage and does not require the same amount of labor to maintain hygiene. In fact it provides a higher level of hygiene due to ongoing disinfection.

BioProtect is the most effective disinfectant for this purpose. TGA have recently approved the claim of 28 days residual protection. BioProtect is more effective in fighting the coronavirus on contaminated surfaces, as it differs from traditional disinfectants that cease to be effective once they dry and create a contamination window.

 You can use BioProtect in place of traditional disinfectants without the need to fog. Implementing BioProtect Surface Disinfectant to provide greater protection against surface contamination is basically about substituting the existing product for BioProtect with minimal changes to cleaning practices. 

Understanding the hygiene of your client’s facility and environment and delivering the most effective job is your utmost priority, and BioProtect can help you achieve that effect. You can easily substitute BioProtect into current cleaning practices and provide continuous, residual surface protection and as a result, as greater comfort for your clients that you are helping them to maintain a safe workplace.