Policy: Cleaning and Disinfecting High-Touch Areas in Patient / Resident Rooms in an Attempt to curb the Spread of COVID-19.

Policy: Cleaning and Disinfecting High-Touch Areas in Patient / Resident Rooms in an Attempt to curb the Spread of COVID-19.

Introduction

COVID -19 is a respiratory infection triggered by a coronavirus not historically present in humans. It is a (unique) story, first detected in Wuhan, China (Public Health Branch, Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, 2020). The spatial range is continuing to evolve ever since its discovery. Transfer of this virus from an individual to an individual occurs most often between near contacts (within around 6 feet). This form of transmission takes place through breathable droplets. Diversely, there is no previous documentation spread of novel COVID-19 to individuals from surfaces infected by the virus. Recent findings show that persons who are sick but depict no signs will also play a significant role in COVID-19 spreading (Health Canada, 2020). Coronavirus transmission happens much more frequently via respiratory droplets than via bloodborne pathogens. Existing evidence indicates that SARS-CoV-2 on interfaces made out of different materials will survive and thrive for minutes to hours to days.

Depending on a preliminary country risk and vulnerability evaluation, the Healthcare Environmental Service and Management (HESM) has developed policies and strategies to respond to the COVID-19 epidemic to achieve the government directives. The policy involves cleaning and disinfecting high-touch areas in patient/resident rooms.

The policy intends to:

Policy Goals

• The primary goal of the government response to the epidemic of the coronavirus remains to prevent and care for the human-to-human spread of the outbreak and offer health care services to those affected.
• Control of COVID-19 and other airborne virus diseases in homes and populations.
• HESM seeks to assist hospitals in evaluating and strengthening their readiness to respond to COVID-19 outbreaks around the Region.
• Implement hospital-specific procedures to minimize the risk of exposure by nurses in encounters with COVID-19 patients and thereby preserve a “nil physician infections.”

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Procedures and responsibilities for each interprofessional staff members

1. Hospitals

HESM seeks to assist hospitals in evaluating and strengthening their readiness to respond to a society-wide COVID-19 outbreak, ensuring that all facilities are qualified, equipped, and competent of the required strategies to:

• Avoid the spread of respiratory illnesses like COVID-19 inside the hospital
• Locate and separate patients with possible COVID-19 quickly and notify the public health authorities (WHO, 2020).
• Care for a small patient population with verified or suspicious COVID-19 as part of standard services
• Possible care for a more significant patient population in the sense of an escalating epidemic while ensuring sufficient treatment for other victims
• Track and monitor any medical staff who might be subjected to COVID-19
• Communicate effectively across the facility and prepare for appropriate medical care.

1. Housekeeping:

For the mitigation of COVID-19 and other infectious respiratory diseases for residential and household environments, HESM will ensure the household environments and the general public can do the following:

• Members of the community should perform regular cleaning of regularly touched textures (such as appliances, sinks, faucets, toilets, chairs, handles, light switches, doorknobs, and tables) (Burnett, 2018).
• When it comes to electronic devices, if no supplier instructions are available, HESM suggest disinfecting touch screens using ethanol-based spray or wipes containing at least 70 percent alcohol—comprehensively dry surfaces to prevent the accumulation of liquids.
• Family members should be informed about the COVID-19 signs to avoid COVID-19 from spreading in households.
• Disinfect and clean high-touch environments every day in specific areas of the households.
• In the sick person’s bathroom/restroom: consider minimizing the amount of cleaning to the desired (such as soiled objects and surfaces) in order to prevent unwanted contact with the virus (Health Canada, 2020 ).
• An infected individual should remain in a separate room and separated from other individuals in his or her home all the time, following instructions from residential medical care.
• Members of the household must follow guidelines about home treatment when dealing with identified/proven COVID-19 individuals and their separation rooms/bathrooms.

Nursing staff

In order to develop medical center-specific guidelines to minimize the risk of transmission of nurses in encounters with COVID-19 people and thereby achieve a ‘nil nurse disease,’ the HESM must ensure that:

• Nurses receive appropriate training and education coverage such as the use of hand hygiene, disinfection of the ward,  personal protective equipment (PPE), handling of medical waste and euthanasia of patient safety equipment
• Use personal protection devices when caring for COVID-19 individuals in the nursing profession all the time. Personal protective equipment (PPE) serves as a physical shield protecting healthcare workers, like nurses, from being infected with fluids and other body fluids. (Beam et al. 2011)
• Provide immediate cleaning of the bathroom and the restroom supplies for a COVID-19 patient person, unless space is inhabited by a child or other adult for whom such supplies may not be appropriate. Other materials include condoms, towels made from paper, cleaners, and antiseptics registered with EPA.

General Public guideline policies

• To curb the transmission of COVID-19 from individual to individual, HESM must ensure that the public follows the following recommendations:
• Thoroughly and regularly clean the hands with an alcohol-based hands scrub or rinse them with water and soap (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020).
• Keep a distance of at least 1 meter (3 feet) between you and someone sneezing or coughing.
• Do not rub the mouth, nose, and eyes.
• Practice effective respiratory hygiene. This implies covering the nose and mouth with one’s bent forearm or tissue while coughing or sneezing. Then, quickly discard the used material.
• If one has a cough, fever and trouble breathing, seek immediate medical attention quickly
• Remain informed and obey the health care provider’s recommendations

Maintenance staff

To monitor the transmission of COVID-19 in healthcare buildings, the HESM must ensure hospital maintenance staff:

• Cleans dirty surfaces, and disinfection follows. It is the greatest-practice intervention in homes and social settings to avoid COVID-19 and other viral respiratory diseases.
• It is unclear the length of time coronavirus stays potentially contagious inside a space occupied by an individual with reported COVID-19. As such, the HESM ensures that hospital maintenance personnel weigh facilities like house size and circulation system configuration (along with airflow rate [air variations per hr.] and positioning of intake and exhaust vents) when determining how long to shut the areas or rooms used by sick people before disinfection starts.
• Cleans and disinfects areas with high touch in patient/resident spaces. It is to boost airflow in an environment or space where anyone who was sick or suspected of suffering from COVID-19 would help shorten the period it takes to extract respiratory droplets from the air (Ohio Department of Health, 2020).
• In the absence of a separate toilet, the workers should clean and disinfect the toilet after-use by an ill person; When that is not practicable, the nursing staff will wait for the elevated-touch surfaces to be washed and disinfected as long as is feasible following use by an ill person.

Conclusion

In summary, COVID-19 is a highly infectious disease, the medical-related spread of the virus remains a very significant threat to medical-care staff, and physicians are at the forefront of treatment and are therefore more vulnerable to infection. An awareness of the function, styles, and correct use of PPE is essential for nurses. Proper use of PPE safeguards staff, physicians, and wellbeing-care facilities from the contagious viruses spreading. It is also critical for nurses to be mindful of the risk of being exposed to transmissible infections directly or indirectly associated with fluids or body excretions, the atmosphere, and facilities. They agree that versatile, customizable policies and procedures play a vital role in minimizing nosocomial infection. One can protect themselves by continually washing their hands, stop touching your face, and avoid physical contact (2 meter or 3 feet) with the infected individuals. I urge everybody heartily to remain at home and also to stay safe.

References

Burnett, E. (2018). Effective infection prevention and control: the nurse’s role. Nursing Standard. doi: 10.7748/ns.2018.e11171

Health Canada (2020). Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Government of Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/coronavirus-disease-covid-19.html

Ohio Department of Health. (2020). Covid-19 checklist to help the isolated or quarantined: the top 5 things you can do to help someone isolated or quarantined due to Covid-19. Columbus, OH.

Public Health Branch, Ministry of Health, and Long-Term Care. (2020). Public health and epidemiology report Ontario. Toronto, Ont.

Seymour, C.W., Kennedy, J.N., Wang, S., et al. (2019). Derivation, Validation, and Potential Treatment Implications of Novel Clinical Phenotypes for Sepsis. JAMA. 28;321(20)

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19). Accessed on 6th April from Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

World Health Organisation. (2020). Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Accessed on 6th April from https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019.