It’s common to catch a cold or a nasty flu during the Fall and Winter months. This year there are two additional viruses to be on the lookout for. Outbreaks of RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) and Norovirus have recently made headlines across the nation. Although the flu and norovirus are typically prevalent starting in Autumn spilling into Spring. This year RSV has stuck around past its season that usually peaks in July for the United States, leading to an estimated 58,000-80,000 hospitalizations among children younger than 5 years old and 60,000-120,000 hospitalizations among adults 65 and older.
What is the impact these outbreaks have on health of our building occupants and communities? Based on nationwide data provided by the CDC, there are roughly 430,000 hospitalizations per year between these three highly contagious viruses. Putting the health of our students, employees, and customers first is top priority. Facility management is heavily relied on by so many to provide a safe and healthy environment to work, learn and continue our established daily routines. With proper cleaning strategies and supplies combined with expert training and education tools you can help protect your building occupants against the viral trifecta of the season.
RSV is a common respiratory virus.
Flu is a contagious respiratory illness.
Norovirus aka “stomach flu” or “stomach bug”
In a post pandemic world, most of us are returning to the ways of before. A world full of in person experiences such as returning to campus for in class learning, going out to a restaurant to enjoy a meal or heading back to the office. Re-entering back into “normalcy” can understandably cause anxiety to rise in building occupants. The quality of cleanliness and essentially the safety of a building can affect how one learns and performs. To ease the stress and concerns of re-entering life as we knew it, we developed 6 Steps to Occupant Wellness and Pathogen Control aka WAXIE RE6™ Building Re-Entry.
With all three viral pathogens in circulation this flu season, helping your building occupants avoid getting sick is more important than ever. At first glance, this may seem like a daunting task given the seasonal “tridemic” on the rise, but with WAXIE RE6 your facility maintenance team can be prepped and ready for anything thrown your way.
With these six steps you can help prevent the spread of the flu, RSV and norovirus:
80% of all infectious diseases are spread by touch – clean hands save lives, and create a healthier building environment.
High-touch surfaces are a potential source for pathogen transfer to building occupants – targeted disinfection of high-touch surfaces will inactivate and suppress the growth of harmful pathogens, and create a healthier building environment
Cleaning and disinfecting facilities results in opportunities for potential exposure to hazards – appropriate use of PPE will protect users against these health and safety risks, and create a healthier building environment
Other sources for indoor pollutants and pathogens can be found throughout a facility – identifying these sources and employing effective facility maintenance strategies can limit potential exposure to indoor pollutants and pathogens, and create a healthier building environment
Misapplication and misuse of cleaning and disinfecting solutions can lead to ineffective results, and even potential injury – partnering with a trusted adviser can help to optimize results, and create a healthier building environment
WAXIE is committed to helping our customers keep their facilities cleaner, healthier, greener, and safer. That means creating customized cleaning solutions to meet your specific needs, and then providing the ongoing training and support to help you achieve a cleaner and healthier building environment with virus prevention resources.
Please contact your WAXIE Account Consultant today to schedule a consultation.
Caitlin Dimalanta is WAXIE’s eCommerce Specialist. She enjoys researching and implementing various SEO (search engine optimization) strategies to enhance WAXIE’s eCommerce platform Web@Work. Caitlin has a Bachelor's Degree in Marketing from San Diego State University.