Is regularly washing hands really enough to reduce the virus spreading?
We are being told constantly that washing our hands is going to help us combat the coronavirus; for months now the media has been broadcasting just how important it is to our own health and safety to be washing our hands.
There have been TV adverts, radio broadcasts and countless reminders on news papers and splashed all over social media. However there appears to be certain issues that are not being brought up for discussion.
Companies like Concise Lanyards have only recently started to re-open including both essential and non essential shops, even drive-thru’s and take away restaurants and large coffee chains all setting back into trading again. Although with a few minor differences; more cleaning and PPE is essential for staff members while working. So much focus has gone onto what companies will have to do in order to be safe for the consuming market that the attention on these big retailers reopening has cast a shadow over some very crucial points to consider.
Virus can live on our clothes.
The virus can live on any surface even if for only a few hours, our clothes are no exception. If physical contact or airborne virus particles come into contact with others then we are still putting people at risk of contracting the virus. If the harmful virus is able to attach to our clothing means that washing our hands for twenty seconds so many times a time will, alone, not be enough! If you are required to wear a uniform for work, will that mean you need to be washing it after every use and if so won’t that mean your employer should be providing you more uniforms to wear?
How about NHS staff they have to wear specific overalls, scrubs and uniforms; if the virus is to be spreadable through clothing then they too will need to be changing uniforms constantly. Would they need to change every time they see a new patient, as that would just not be practical.
Consider PVC Lanyards.
Perhaps the clothes are not the thing that can contain and spread the virus, how about lanyards and card holders. These are all worn around the neck, people could be spreading the virus unknowingly through the air, by sneezing or coughing who have the virus, and the lanyards and holders around our necks are just trapping it on the surface. In that case would not lanyards and cold holders also need to be changed on a frequent basis – daily?
Perhaps consider changing your normal lanyard material during these uncertain times to a wipe down PVC option.
Companies should protect employees.
For people outside of the NHS, those who work around food, selling goods and other professionals that require contact between individuals are all required or at the very least encouraged to wear PPE whilst working. However if lanyards and clothes do need to be changed frequently, daily, then wont companies need to be spending more on providing their employees these essential protective goods. If workers are going to be required to change all their PPE, Lanyards, badges, clothing and even card holders then this will be at a tremendous cost to the companies who are required to provide the uniforms and extra protection.
Image just how costly it would be for a company with 500+ employees working within close contact with the consuming market on a continuous basis. All the extra PPE, lanyards and clothes that the company would be legally required to provide will generate huge costs. But what else can they do?
Companies are not allowed to put employees back in work if they are going to be in close contact with others without at least offering them the options to have the protection against spreading the virus in the form of PPE or regular changes of fresh uniform. It would be ethically and morally wrong for companies to do that; therefore the only solutions that companies are being faced with to combat a crisis like this is simply have the necessary arrangements for clothing, uniforms, lanyards, PPE etc easily accessible for employees or risk not having any work force or labour actually at work.
Companies may need to invest more money into the safety of their employees; by not allowing them to feel vulnerable to catching the virus due to not being provided what is both necessary and required for all works to have access to in these current times. Washing of hands may not be enough, but along with access to protective clothing, PPE and fresh uniforms it can certainly help to minimise the viruses spread.
If you’d like to read our article about the history of printed lanyards and also the effect of the COVID-19 on articles like badge holders or other lanyard information please follow our blog.