With the recent news of the new Phizer/BioNTech Booster shots available for children 5 and older, it’s both important to take in the good news but also be mindful to the ongoing pandemic, which is still very much happening around the world. Even before COVID-19, back to school meant increased risk of exposure to illness-causing germs in school-aged children. It’s vital to create a strong game plan in order to combat the virus. The CDC website is an excellent source for updates on illnesses, diseases, and how to combat them.
According to the CDC “While COVID-19 tends to be milder in children compared with adults, it can make children very sick and cause children to be hospitalized. In some situations, the complications from infection can lead to death. Although children are at a lower risk of becoming severely ill with COVID-19 compared with adults, children can…
- Be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19
- Get very sick from COVID-19
- Have both short and long-term health complications from COVID-19
- Spread COVID-19 to others
But what other measures must be taken in order to keep our children safe in the classrooms, and at home? Preventative tools exist and it is vital to know which ones can best clean, sanitize and disinfect. Disinfecting wipes like the FORCE2 https://www.2xlpro.com/product/force2-disinfecting-wipes-2/ are safe, fast- acting and EPA registered and can be used in schools, restrooms, and kitchens and are effective against 46 total pathogens including CA-MRSA, Coronavirus and Staph.
According to the CDC: “Cleaning and promoting hand hygiene are important everyday actions schools can take to slow the spread of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases and protect students and staff. Cleaning with products containing soap or detergent reduces germs on surfaces and objects by removing contaminants and may also weaken or damage some of the virus particles, which decreases risk of infection from surfaces. Cleaning high touch surfaces and shared objects once a day is usually enough to sufficiently remove virus that may be on surfaces unless someone with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 has been in your school.” One of the other dangerous culprits in school is strep throat. There are an estimated million cases of strep throat each year. Strep Throat or Streptococcus pyogenes can be spread by children who have little to no symptoms and can be acquired by touching contaminated droplets on various surfaces. Setting up and maintaining a cleaning game plan for your classroom can be paramount. Disinfectant Wipes are going to be the best option in terms of cleaning most non-porous surfaces.
In reference to having a safe plan, The CDC also states you should..
- Plan with staff and teachers. Discuss obstacles to routine cleaning and ways to overcome those obstacles.
- Develop a schedule for routine cleaning.
- Modify your standard procedures to accommodate regularly cleaning at least once a day or as often as needed.
Simply put, keeping our children safe, healthy and in school ensures that they will all have the best opportunities to learn and grow. Every child deserves to be safe in their School, whether it’s in classroom or at home. This moment is vital that we can continue to stick together to combat the virus and stay healthy.
For more information, visit https://www.cdc.gov/
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