An outbreak of infection is commonly said to be a situation when two or more people are experiencing similar symptoms of illness. In the office, this is a common occurrence. However, some types of businesses are more prone than others (for example accountants, banks, construction, transport etc.) as more items are commonly used by a variety of people. It is the number of people using one item that makes the spread of germs more likely to occur. Therefore, your cleaning schedule will need to react to help limit the spread of sickness in your office.
Tell others if an outbreak has occurred
By educating others if an outbreak has occurred, it will encourage staff to take more care with their personal hygiene. As much as you will need to react accordingly, only so much can be done by the workplace to ensure containment is made. Employees must actively participate too in order to truly limit the spread of illness.
Encourage hand washing + provide hand sanitiser
As employees now know there is a risk of infection, ensure regular hand washing is being done. Additionally, provide easy to reach hand sanitiser, this means hands are as clean as possible. Our hands do a lot, touch a lot and gather a lot of germs, therefore, it is our own hands that are often the cause for the spread of sickness. With hands being the main culprit, ensure everyone is being extra cautious with their hygiene.
Intense surface cleaning
Germs, bacteria and viruses can live on a surface (exact time will depend on the type), ensure they have as little ability to infect others by intensely cleaning all surfaces- especially those commonly used. As mentioned above, it is often our hands that are the cause of germs spreading, therefore, if the surfaces are initially clean, hands are less likely to spread bacteria from one area to another.
If someone has a contagious illness, ask them to stay off from work for at least 48 hours
It is best practice to leave as much time possible for recovery, this not only helps the ill individual but also the rest of the office as the contagious period comes to an end. Most illnesses will not be overly dangerous depending on our immune system, but some people have a weaker immune system, therefore, cannot properly fight off infection- in some cases even being life threatening. With this risk, it is essential that every precaution is made so that infection is limited.
Do not just clean, disinfect everywhere
We have previously discussed the difference between cleaning, sanitising and disinfecting, ensure you are educated on these differences and are implementing this knowledge into your general and reactive cleaning schedules. Harmful viruses could be living anywhere in the office, therefore ensure the entire property is intensely cleaned in order to contain the problem. Commonly touched areas are a great place to start, but ensure everywhere is disinfected.
Analyse the cleaning schedule, how could it be improved?
You may have created a cleaning schedule, but this will need to be regularly analysed to see if it is still effective. Regular checks will need to be completed, but during an outbreak, it is a priority to analyse the schedule to see where it can be improved to try and prevent an outbreak in future. A professional cleaning company will be able to accurately and efficiently make suggestions on improvements for your requirements, make sure to contact us to see how we can help prevent illness in your workplace.
For more information about WINNS’ Cleaning Services or to book our cleaning services please contact us on 01702 719100 or or email us at info@winnsservices.co.uk
