We haven’t seen every budget for 2020, but we would hazard a guess that when this year first dawned, most businesses did not have “purchasing portable handwashing sinks” listed as a specific line item.
Due to complications surrounding the outbreak of COVID-19, however, that may very well have changed. We need clean hands now more than ever.
● In continued lockdown, COVID-19 infections will persist for at least two years.
● Infections, however, will rapidly rise (by an order of magnitude) if lockdown is lifted – peaking after two months – recurring yearly, similar to influenza.
● Repeated lockdowns and releases do not avoid an endemic infection, even following a White House release guideline of 14 days of declining cases, or even a stricter 28 days.
Since the effects of this virus on our daily lives seem as if they will be ongoing, the time has come to consider pivoting our offices, classrooms, and waiting areas to reflect this new reality.
If there’s one thing the year 2020 has taught us, it’s that good hand hygiene is more important than ever. According to experts at the Cleveland Clinic, it’s one of the simplest and most effective ways to keep yourself and the people you love healthy.
Practicing good hand hygiene involves regular handwashing. Unless hands are visibly soiled, an alcohol-based hand rub is preferred over soap and water in most clinical situations due to evidence of better compliance compared to soap and water. Hand rubs are generally less irritating to hands and are effective in the absence of a sink…Hands should be washed with soap and water for at least 20 seconds when visibly soiled, before eating, and after using the restroom. (CDC)
Which is all very well unless you do not have ready access to clean water.
The next time you visit an office, things will be different. Be prepared in your own workplace for guests and employee comfort and safety.
The Worthington Direct team looks forward to returning to our own office space, but in the meantime we are preparing for how that might work best. We are not experts on the new normal, but we are furniture experts. Here are some sanitation and safety products we are implementing in our own office to reopen safely.