After 17 months of working remotely, employees are getting called back into the office across the US. Whether they are welcoming the transition back to the workplace or dreading it, workers collectively have concerns about their health. The Delta variant continues to spread, despite vaccine availability. Health officials are hopeful that recent full approval from FDA for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine will push more to get vaccinated. 
 
Unfortunately, businesses that want to get back to business may not be fully prepared to welcome workers back to their desks. That’s because 70% of business leaders don’t have any specific expertise in cleaning and disinfection, according to Reckitt, the company behind the well-known Lysol cleaning brand. 

Professional Help

Reckitt recently created Lysol Pro Solutions, which it describes as a science-led, business-to-business offering that helps companies prevent the spread of illness-causing germs. Lysol Pro Solutions offers tailor-made, targeted hygiene protocols so businesses can protect their staff and their customers. The platform has already delivered successful programs for Hilton Hotels, Delta Air Lines, Avis Budget Group and many Major League Baseball teams.

These real solutions and strategies are essential. Otherwise, it is just “hygiene theater.”

“Hygiene theater is the illusion of improved personal protection from germs through the indiscriminate use of misplaced hygiene interventions such as one-off deep cleans, excessive chemical fogging and ineffective behavior change,” said Bruce Charlesworth, Reckitt’s Chief Medical Officer.
 
“Paradoxically, rather than helping to reduce the risk to health, hygiene theater may have negative consequences such as the creation of a false sense of security and the overuse or misuse of chemicals. Hygiene theater can also create unnecessary inconvenience for businesses and customers alike,” he said.
 
Cleaning and disinfection must be based on scientific, risk-based protocols that are “rigorously and continuously assessed and created with the specific business environment in mind, considering the key moments—the times and places where targeted hygiene needs to be applied,” Charlesworth said.
 
That means not just surface cleaning and disinfection, but also hand hygiene carried out when it is most needed—such as when employees arrive at work, or change locations and of course, after using the restroom, Charlesworth insists. 
 
“In reality, hygiene theater does very little to reduce the transfer of pathogens compared with implementing regular, targeted hygiene measures at the right moments. In many cases, misplaced reassurance measures can encourage people to let their guard down or neglect more impactful steps. Helping to protect against illness-causing germs by using science to go beyond hygiene theater is central to reassuring consumers and increasing their confidence outside of the home.”
 
Lysol Pro Solutions, according to Reckitt, can help companies of all types and sizes protect customers and staff from the spread of illness-causing germs as effectively and efficiently as possible. 
 
“We work closely with businesses to develop targeted cleaning and disinfection measures that take into account how customers move and interact within a space, with a focus on germ-harboring areas and germ-spreading moments. We produce enhanced protocols and deliver training on when, how and what products should be used to clean and disinfect. Through our program, we are helping businesses protect against the current global health crisis and potential threats of tomorrow whilst avoiding hygiene theater and overuse of chemicals,” said Charlesworth

Rising Need

The stakes are high. Evidence suggests that the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2— which is now widespread in the US and contributing heavily to case spikes—is potentially more transmissible than other variants, according to the CDC.
 
“Against this backdrop, businesses must be aware of their critical role in helping to limit the spread of this and other illness-causing germs that could overload our already stretched healthcare systems, ensuring protection for customers and employees,” said Charlesworth. “Rather than resorting to hygiene theater and implementing misplaced disinfection or behavior change, businesses can implement targeted hygiene protocols that are informed by science. These protocols should be centered around cleaning and disinfecting the right areas and surfaces—including hands—at the right moments amongst other appropriate measures.”
 
As part of best practices, businesses should use EPA-approved products, such as Lysol Disinfectant Spray or Lysol Disinfecting Wipes for surface disinfection as directed, insists Reckitt.
 
“As with other variants of SARS-CoV-2, while the risk of transmission through surfaces may be lower than airborne transmission, the risk remains real, especially as masks and physical distancing decline. Businesses have a responsibility to protect their staff and customers, and with many Americans patronizing businesses for the first time in almost 18 months, helping to protect against the spread of all illness-causing germs is central to reassuring consumers and increasing their confidence outside of the home,” said Charlesworth.

 
Back To School

It isn’t just employees and customers. Students, too, are returning to schools across the country over the next few weeks.
 
“Schools can be a hotbed for virus transmission, with germs spreading rapidly via hands and surfaces even amongst asymptomatic carriers. Respiratory viruses, such as influenza, SARS-CoV-2 and Coxsackie can survive on surfaces for several hours to days, while intestinal viruses, such as Rotavirus, Norovirus, and Hepatitis A can survive for days to several weeks,” said Charlesworth.
 
While classroom surfaces such as desks, tables and chairs remain a concern for microbial contamination in schools, other areas of school buildings, such as cafeterias, restrooms, locker rooms and buses, require similar attention to cleaning, with a targeted focus on reducing the infectious disease transmission potential.
 
Lysol Pro Solutions offers targeted hygiene programs for schools that focus practices at the times and in the places that matter to break the chain of infection and help reduce the risk of exposure to potentially illness-causing microbes. In general, schools should consider the following hygiene measures:
 
• Regular cleaning (and possibly disinfection) of surfaces and objects that are touched often, such as desks, countertops, doorknobs, computer keyboards, hands-on learning items, faucet handles, phones and toys;
• Immediate cleaning of surfaces and objects that are visibly soiled;
• The use of gloves and other standard precautions to avoid coming into contact with surfaces or objects soiled with body fluids or blood; 
• Removing spills, followed by cleaning and disinfection of surfaces; 
• Matching cleaning and disinfecting activities to the target microbes (germs); and
• Cleaning and disinfecting correctly. Always follow label directions on cleaning products and disinfectants.
 
Cold & Flu

There is widespread uncertainty among experts about how severe the impending cold and flu season will be this coming season. 
 
Cold and flu cases in 2020 21 were historically low, likely due to a range of non-pharmaceutical hygiene interventions and behaviors targeted on SARS-CoV-2 spread, said Reckitt. 
 
“While this reduction provides clear evidence as to the value of hygiene interventions in preventing disease, some experts believe this may lead to a rebound in cold and flu cases in 2021-22, underscoring the need for continued hygiene. This predicted increase is largely due to lifting of restrictions,  a decrease in natural immunity and their being less understanding of the likely variants to inform flu vaccination choice,” said Charlesworth.