As you probably know, the State of Illinois is returning to “Tier 3 mitigation” to address the resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have assembled a list of helpful links where you can get more detailed official information, and a few ideas about how to help keep your facility safe.
- Here you can find a centralized collection of the latest CDC guidance documents, searchable by topic or audience, for example Manufacturing Workers and Employers, schools, and restaurants and bars
- Here you can find the CDC’s Frequently Asked Questions page
- Here you can find the regional metrics within Illinois which are driving the decisions on restrictions. Most of our customers are in one of these regions:
- Region 7: Will and Kankakee Counties
- Region 8: DuPage and Kane Counties
- Region 9: Lake and McHenry Counties
- Region 10: Cook County except Chicago
- Region 11: City of Chicago
- Here you can find detailed charts on the sorts of locations where outbreaks are happening, statewide or by region.
Beyond the well-known steps involving personal behavior (wearing face coverings, frequent hand washing, social distancing, avoiding touching the face) and observing the Tier 3 restrictions, what can you do in your facility?
Three thoughts:
- Improve your air filtration. Although the virus is too small by itself to catch in a filter, it tends to travel on droplets, so improved filtration can help.
- Improve your building’s air circulation. One way to do that without opening a lot of windows in the winter is to cut down on your system’s air duct leakage.
- Have your surfaces cleaned using an EPA N-List chemical. For many years, Airways has used Oxine® to disinfect air ducts after cleaning. It dries with no residue and no rinsing required, and its SDS sheet shows a low-risk safety profile. Now that it is on the EPA’s “N List” for chemicals that meet its criteria for use against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, it is a useful weapon against the virus on hard surfaces. Airways has applied Oxine® in the kitchen and dining area of a local health care facility, after a thorough conventional cleaning. We applied it to furniture, equipment, walls, and floors. The surfaces dried by evaporation in less than an hour, and the spaces we treated were ready to be re-occupied, odor-free, and imposed no new PPE requirements on the occupants
These are tough times for just about everyone, in one way or another, or several. We wish you some peace, joy and rest for the Thanksgiving holiday.