Last fall, the pandemic continued to disrupt our normal ways of schooling, work, and life. It felt like we were all still scrambling to figure out how to keep people safe, socially distance, and implement a plan for restarting the economy after a series of long lockdowns. As we enter the second fall of our new normal, we have a series of new challenges to face.
Luckily, we’ve also had a whole year to study and expand our knowledge of the virus and better practices to work around it. As we move forward to another fall and winter season, we’re discussing 3 of the challenges we face in the coming season and how you can best prepare for them.
Looking at Fall Trends
Though Covid-19 cases nationwide dipped back in the spring thanks to the vaccine initiative, we’re now swinging back to higher daily cases—just in time for schools and universities to open their doors and increase potential for spread. Though the CDC recommends indoor mask use, regardless of vaccination status, we’ve seen a number of counties and states creating legislation that makes it difficult for school districts to require masks.
If a particular facility or organization opts out of wearing masks—or can’t count on customers, guests, and employees to consistently wear them of their own volition—then sanitization is more important than ever as a defender against the spread of illnesses, no matter what kind. And as more people come together through indoor gatherings or in the workplace, we have our usual fall and winter illnesses to anticipate.
Checking in on Flu Season
Last fall, experts were concerned about the possibility of a twindemic, or the combination of the Covid-19 pandemic and the usual flu season. Thankfully that didn’t happen. One of the curious side-effects of so much social distancing was that last year’s flu season’s severity was remarkably less.
But as the channel SciShow breaks down, skipping the last flu season may complicate things this year and in future seasons. Even though we saw less flu cases, that doesn’t mean the flu didn’t exist or continue mutating in other hosts like pigs or other vessels capable of passing along new forms of influenza.
That makes it especially important to ensure that your facilities receive high-quality cleaning on a regular basis to reduce the chances of a double-whammy of fall and winter illness. And even as we’re unsure what the coming flu season will be like, the Covid-19 pandemic continues to change and shift as well.
Understanding the Delta Variant… and the Rest
The most recent spike in Covid-19 cases is primarily due to the Delta variant, which appears to be more contagious and marginally less affected by our vaccines. Other strains you may have seen in the media include the Lambda strain, and the longer the pandemic goes, the more strains we may see.
Though all of these concerns together—rising case counts, the uncertainty of the coming flu season, and new Covid variants—may sound daunting, we’re not here to scare you into another “Shelter In Place” period. There are plenty of ways we can come together as a community to approach these seasonal challenges.
Taking Action Today
The tactics we can use during this season are similar to those we’ve used since the beginning of the pandemic (and for flu season in general):
- Wash your hands
- Maintain social distancing where possible
- Wear a mask in public or indoors as recommended by the CDC
- Get your vaccine (whether it be for Covid or your seasonal flu shot)
Outside of practicing these behaviors on a personal basis, you can take more precautions by hiring a cleaning crew to make regular sanitization the rule for your facility.
At Maintenance One, we specialize in a Clorox 360 routine designed to cover your all-around needs. This includes deep-cleaning for those common areas of high traffic as well as more niche needs that are unique to your layout and business concerns.
It’s important to get ahead of the wave this season. Doing so can help reduce employee sick days, increase guest comfort and safety, and lower the risk of liability due to at-work illness transmission. If you’re interested in making sure your facility is prepared for fall, the flu, and future spikes, contact us for a quote. We’ll look over your particular needs and come up with the sanitization routine that’s right for you.
