In the last few months, children's laughter has echoed through the corridors of schools again. That is more than good and should stay that way. To ensure the security in schools, it is important to pay attention to surface disinfection, potentially a new addition to the usual cleaning protocols.
Prevent Coronavirus in schools with surface disinfection
Why is regular surface disinfection in schools so important? There are several reasons for this. Children up to 12 years are not vaccinated and compared to adults, coronavirus infections among children are often asymptomatic. Up to 40 percent of children show no symptoms.
And even though children in schools are regularly tested for corona infection, there is no definite certainty. The coronavirus tests are only accurate in about 80 percent of cases. Every fifth infection remains undetected. Therefore, the probability that there are infected children in schools despite all precautionary measures is correspondingly high.
Transmission of coronaviruses by touching surfaces
Current regulations mean that many children do protect their classmates from infection by wearing masks. However, the virus can also be spread in other ways, for example, by touching surfaces colonised by the virus. This is especially true in schools, where there are a lot of surfaces that are touched by many children's hands one after the other. According to ABC News, frequently touched objects in schools, such as door handles, handrails of stairs, toilets or wash basins contain thousands of different germs. Among them are mainly cold or flu viruses or bacteria that cause gastrointestinal diseases.
However, there is also a certain risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2 by touching these surfaces. This is because the pathogen can remain on certain surfaces for up to 28 days and can get onto the mucous membranes and into the body through a careless touch of the nose or mouth[1][2]. There are proven cases of COVID-19 infection that are attributed to such a smear infection[3] .
What surface sanitisers are available?
It is therefore extremely important that schools ensure that surfaces are regularly sanitised. This can make a significant contribution to stopping transmission the virus, as the American Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends. The CDC encourages regular sanitising of surfaces in public institutions.
The following products are available for a successful surface sanitising in schools:
- Surface sanitising sprays: Surface sanitising sprays from PURELL are proven to be effective against Coronavirus[4] and have a fast-acting formula with an contact time of 30 seconds. Suitable for a wide range of applications, especially for disinfecting smooth, non-porous surfaces and work surfaces.
- Surface sanitising wipes: PURELL Surface Sanitising Wipes sanitise hands, objects and small surfaces and eliminate 99.9 percent of all germs. They are proven to be effective against Coronavirus in 30 seconds according to EN14476[5]. This makes them perfectly suited for a quick surface sanitising in between pupil use.
Which areas should be cleaned regularly?
Surface sanitisers should be used in the following areas:
- On tables and all surfaces where food is consumed by pupils. Masks are deposited here and the risk of contamination of surfaces is extremely high.
- Items and equipment that are shared often touched by pupils.
Stay healthy!
[1] Chin AWH, Chu JTS, Perera MRA, Hui KPY, Yen HL, Chan MCW, et al. Stability of SARS-CoV-2 in different environmental conditions.
[2] Lancet Microbe. 2020;1:e10. Van Doremalen N, Bushmaker T, Morris DH, Holbrook MG, Gamble A, Williamson BN, et al. Aerosol and surface stability of SARS-CoV-2 compared with SARS-CoV-1. N Engl J Med. 2020;382:1564–7.
[3] Cai J, Sun W, Huang J, Gamber M, Wu J, He G. Indirect Virus Transmission in Cluster of COVID-19 Cases, Wenzhou, China, 2020. Emerging Infect. Dis. 2020, 26, 1343–1345.
[4] Getestet gegen Coronavirus BCoV (Surrogatvirus), gemäß der Norm EN 14476
[5] Getestet gegen Coronavirus BCoV (Surrogatvirus), gemäß der Norm EN 14476
