A deep clean, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, is a sanitation technology. [1] It can mean different things, depending on the industry [2] or jurisdiction. For example, the UK NHS care home guidelines [3] differ from the US CDC recommendations on "How to clean and disinfect". [4] The EPA has created a COVID-specific webpage on which are listed disease-specific pesticidal disinfectants, [5] and has created a webpage on "GUIDANCE FOR CLEANING AND DISINFECTING" [6] in the context of the April 2020 plan, "Opening Up America Again". [7] [8] [9]
In certain jurisdictions, a deep clean must be performed by staff "whom have been trained in the use of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE)". [3]
By Mid-March 2020, Delta Air Lines had developed a fogging procedure to "spray a mist of disinfectant on surfaces throughout the cabin on all trans-Pacific flights arriving in the U.S. and flights from Italy landing in certain American airports. It plans to extend the procedure, its website says, to trans-Atlantic flights coming from areas with reported cases of COVID-19." [2]
Southwest Airlines said in March 2020 that it "now uses a hospital-grade disinfectant throughout the plane during overnight cleaning instead of its former practice of using that only in select areas like the restroom." [2]
Carnival Cruises had instituted a night-time "deep-cleaning and disinfection [procedure] is conducted utilizing electro-static applications through specialized machines in highly-trafficked public areas (including all restaurants, the fitness center, spa, lido deck areas, promenade, casino, medical center, public restrooms, lounges, bars, lobbies, elevators, atrium, youth activity centers, arcade and all crew public areas)." [10]
A disinfectant is a chemical substance or compound used to inactivate or destroy microorganisms on inert surfaces. Disinfection does not necessarily kill all microorganisms, especially resistant bacterial spores; it is less effective than sterilization, which is an extreme physical or chemical process that kills all types of life. Disinfectants are generally distinguished from other antimicrobial agents such as antibiotics, which destroy microorganisms within the body, and antiseptics, which destroy microorganisms on living tissue. Disinfectants are also different from biocides—the latter are intended to destroy all forms of life, not just microorganisms. Disinfectants work by destroying the cell wall of microbes or interfering with their metabolism. It is also a form of decontamination, and can be defined as the process whereby physical or chemical methods are used to reduce the amount of pathogenic microorganisms on a surface.
A bedpan or bed pan is a device used as a receptacle for the urine and/or feces of a person who is confined to a bed and therefore not able to use a toilet or chamber pot.
Infection prevention and control is the discipline concerned with preventing healthcare-associated infections; a practical rather than academic sub-discipline of epidemiology. In Northern Europe, infection prevention and control is expanded from healthcare into a component in public health, known as "infection protection". It is an essential part of the infrastructure of health care. Infection control and hospital epidemiology are akin to public health practice, practiced within the confines of a particular health-care delivery system rather than directed at society as a whole.
Hand sanitizer is a liquid, gel, or foam used to kill viruses, bacteria, and other microorganisms on the hands. It can also come in the form of a cream, spray, or wipe. While hand washing with soap and water is generally preferred, hand sanitizer is a convenient alternative in settings where soap and water are unavailable. However, it is less effective against certain pathogens like norovirus and Clostridium difficile and cannot physically remove harmful chemicals. Improper use, such as wiping off sanitizer before it dries, can also reduce its effectiveness, and some sanitizers with low alcohol concentrations are less effective. Additionally, frequent use of hand sanitizer may disrupt the skin's microbiome and cause dermatitis.
Lysol is a brand of American cleaning and disinfecting products distributed by Reckitt, which markets the similar Dettol or Sagrotan in other markets. The line includes liquid solutions for hard and soft surfaces, air treatment, and hand washing. The active ingredient in many Lysol products is benzalkonium chloride, but the active ingredient in the Lysol "Power and Free" line is hydrogen peroxide. Lysol has been used since its invention in the late 19th century as a household and industrial cleaning agent, and previously as a medical disinfectant.
A virucide is any physical or chemical agent that deactivates or destroys viruses. The substances are not only virucidal but can be also bactericidal, fungicidal, sporicidal or tuberculocidal.
In health care facilities, isolation represents one of several measures that can be taken to implement in infection control: the prevention of communicable diseases from being transmitted from a patient to other patients, health care workers, and visitors, or from outsiders to a particular patient. Various forms of isolation exist, in some of which contact procedures are modified, and others in which the patient is kept away from all other people. In a system devised, and periodically revised, by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), various levels of patient isolation comprise application of one or more formally described "precaution".
The COVID-19 pandemic in the United Arab Emirates is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The first confirmed case in the United Arab Emirates was announced on 29 January 2020. It was the first country in the Middle East to report a confirmed case.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Oman was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was confirmed to have reached Oman on 24 February 2020 when two citizens tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from Iran. As of 21 August 2021, the total number of cases registered in the sultanate is 300,914, of which 289,450 have recovered and 4,020 have died. Initially, the majority of the cases and deaths occurred in the expatriate community. By July 2020, as the pandemic entered its fourth month in the country, the majority of the cases and deaths had occurred among the citizens.
The first cases relating to the COVID-19 pandemic in Washington, D.C., were reported on March 7, 2020. The city has enacted a variety of public health measures in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus, including limiting business activities, suspending non-essential work, and closing down schools.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Nebraska is an ongoing viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). As of March 2, 2022, there have been 475,690 confirmed cases and 3,986 deaths.
Hazard controls for COVID-19 in workplaces are the application of occupational safety and health methodologies for hazard controls to the prevention of COVID-19. Multiple layers of controls are recommended, including measures such as remote work and flextime, personal protective equipment (PPE) and face coverings, social distancing, and enhanced cleaning programs. Recently, engineering controls have been emphasized, particularly stressing the importance of HVAC systems meeting a minimum of 5 air changes per hour with ventilation or MERV-13 filters, as well as the installation of UVGI systems in public areas.
The COVID-19 pandemic had a large impact on public transport. Many countries advised that public transport should only be used when essential; passenger numbers fell drastically, and services were reduced. Provision of a reasonable service for the much smaller number of fare-paying passengers incurred large financial losses.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, face masks or coverings, including N95, FFP2, surgical, and cloth masks, have been employed as public and personal health control measures against the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Diving equipment may be exposed to contamination in use and when this happens it must be decontaminated. This is a particular issue for hazmat diving, but incidental contamination can occur in other environments. Personal diving equipment shared by more than one user requires disinfection before use. Shared use is common for expensive commercial diving equipment, and for rental recreational equipment, and some items such as demand valves, masks, helmets and snorkels which are worn over the face or held in the mouth are possible vectors for infection by a variety of pathogens. Diving suits are also likely to be contaminated, but less likely to transmit infection directly.
The COVID-19 pandemic in U.S. immigration detention has been covered extensively since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. More than 38,000 people were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the time of the outbreak of COVID-19 in the United States. ICE's response to the outbreak in detention facilities has been widely characterized as substandard and dangerous. Harmful practices have been reported in numerous facilities managed by third-party private contractors with ICE. For example, reports found that HDQ Neutral disinfectant was used over 50 times per day in un-ventilated areas, which caused pain, bleeding, and severe illness to numerous people held in Adelanto Detention Center, a private prison managed by GEO Group Inc.
Accelerated hydrogen peroxide (AHP) is a trademark for solution of hydrogen peroxide whose antibacterial efficacy is enhanced by a surfactant and an organic acid. It is also a disinfectant/cleaning agent that stabilizes hydrogen peroxide so that it can be used for extended periods of time.
Africa's first confirmed case of COVID-19 was announced in Egypt on 14 February 2020. Many preventive measures have been implemented in different countries in Africa, including travel restrictions, flight cancellations, event cancellations, school closures, and border closures. Other measures to contain and limit the spread of the virus has included curfews, lockdowns, and enforcing the wearing of face masks. The virus has spread throughout the continent. Lesotho, the last African sovereign state to have remained free of the virus, reported a case on 13 May 2020.
Hygiene theater is the practice of taking hygiene measures that are intended to give the illusion of improved safety while doing little to actually reduce any risk. During the COVID-19 pandemic, hygiene theater has often been performed by retail businesses in an effort to ease concerns of potential customers, while actually doing little to mitigate the risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2.
Misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines consists of disinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic propagated by various sources.