While many businesses in the U.S. have closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, grocers and essential retailers remain open to provide much-needed food and supplies to their communities. This means commercial cleaning operations are faced with adopting new sanitation best practices as a way to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus within those retail spaces.
To keep you up to date on the latest cleaning tips and information to help combat the evolving coronavirus threat, we’ve assembled a short list of industry, vendor and media resources we think you’ll find helpful.
ISSA
The International Sanitary Supply Association (ISSA) has extensive information on best practices, training opportunities, webinars, and helpful links as part of its Coronavirus: Prevention and Control for the Cleaning Industry resource page. You can also get industry and government updates via the ISSA newsfeed.
OSHA
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational and Safety Health Administration (OSHA) provides the latest information on the COVID-19 outbreak and its impact on workers and employers. Access content on risks and transmissibility, OSHA Standards, worker’s rights, and medical and preventative steps. Visit OSHA.gov/SLTC/covid-19.
CDC
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently published Environmental Cleaning and Disinfection Recommendations for community facilities, but the information is relevant to all commercial cleaning operations. It covers cleaning and disinfecting protocols, recommended protective equipment and hygiene practices, and employer considerations. On Wednesday, April 1, the agency issued new guidance on the timing of disinfection after a suspected/confirmed COVID-19 case.
Environmental Protection Agency
While maybe not an obvious choice for cleaning information, the EPA does have good online resources on which disinfectants are most effective against SARS-CoV-2. As Brain Corp’s cleaning expert Chris Wright mentioned in his blog this week, “COVID-19 Best Practice Tips for Robotic Floor Care,” retailers and other businesses need to start adopting the same rigorous cleaning approaches as hospitals do. This includes adding a hospital-grade neutral disinfectant to robotic floor care units, instead of just water.
SoftBank Robotics
A leader in autonomous vacuum robots that augment the cleaning workforce, Softbank Robotics has published several blog posts that discuss the impact of COVID-19 and how autonomous technology is helping businesses during this unprecedented time. Read Automation Enables Safe, Efficient, and Cost-Effective Cleaning During COVID-19 Pandemic and COVID-19 Next Steps: Robots for Social Distancing and Consumer Trust.
NRF
Check out The National Retail Federation (NRF) blog for posts on how COVID-19 is impacting retailers and NRF’s Coronavirus Resources for Retailers for safety, regulatory, and workforce news.
Progressive Grocer
The grocery focused publication has compiled an impressive resource page, “The Coronavirus Pandemic: What Grocers Need to Know,” listing deep coverage on how food retailers are dealing with the crisis, from operations to cleaning.
Look for further updates to this page as we add more resources.
If you have questions on how robotic floor care can enhance cleaning efficacy and free up valuable time for workers to focus on high-value tasks, including deep cleaning, contact us to see how we can help.
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