How Should Businesses Approach Biohazard Cleanup During The COVID-19 Pandemic
Frequently Asked Questions
April 26, 2020 by David Scott
Transmission of the virus often occurs when someone sneezes or coughs and body fluids (respiratory droplets) become suspended in the air or affixed to surfaces.
Can I Outwait The Virus Instead Of Disinfecting My Facility? Just How Long Can The Virus Survive On Surfaces?
The process of disinfecting your facility before you reopen it can seem like an incredibly daunting task. In light of the risks involved, there have been whispers about businesses that are considering the option of outwaiting the presence of the virus in their facilities instead of performing biohazard removal.
How long can SARS-CoV-2 survive on surfaces? Well, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has officially reported that the virus can survive up to 17 days on some surfaces.
However, this doesn’t mean that you don’t need to disinfect your facility if it has been closed for more than 17 days. In fact, the CDC has also recommended that their guidelines for disinfecting facilities be adhered to, no matter how long ago the suspected/confirmed COVID-19 contamination occurred.
The CDC (and other organizations across the world) have stated many times that there is not enough concrete facts about the virus and that new information about SARS-CoV-2 is continuously being uncovered – so it is better to be safe than sorry.
Can I Enter A Room That Was Once Used By An Infected Person? How Long Does The Virus Persist In The Air?
For most businesses, it is impossible to close contaminated areas for an extended period of time. Even if you’re not planning on touching any surfaces that may be contaminated, you still have to breathe. So, when the virus has been suspended in the air (aerosolized) how long does it stay there?
As of right now, the CDC has official reports about cases where the virus was found in the air up to 3 hours after it had been aerosolized. So, at the very least, you should wait that long before entering and/or passing through areas that have been contaminated.
Who Should Disinfect My Facility? Is It Safe To Have Our Employees Perform COVID-19 Biohazard Cleanup?
Short answer, no.
While there are no official restrictions in place that prevent businesses from disinfecting their facilities on their own, there is an extensive list of biohazard cleanup regulations (from the CDC, OSHA, and the EPA) that has been established.
Here at Bio-One Tucson we are familiar with all biohazard removal procedures and we know the ins and outs of all of the official biohazard cleanup regulations that are applicable to COVID-19 contamination.
Don’t wait, contact us today so that we can take the burden of COVID-19 biohazard cleanup off of your hands during these trying times.
