Blog 1: Protocol and Planning for COVID-19 Positive Decontamination

5/20/2020 (Permalink)

Let SERVPRO of Jacksonville Beach/Ponte Vedra help you decontaminate your facility, 904-246-6118.

Cleanup Scope of Work and Planning

The CDC encourages cleaning of high touch surfaces such as counters, tabletops, doorknobs, bathroom fixtures, toilets, phones, keyboards, tablets, and tables at a minimum.vii These same surfaces are mentioned in the CDCs guidance for commercial spaces as well. viii Building and spaces greatly differ. Each location will require individual planning. Cleaning removes the soil and dirt that harbors the infectious agents while disinfecting kills the remaining environmental pathogens.ix Cleaning of visibly dirty surfaces followed by disinfection is a best practice measure for the prevention of COVID-19 and other viral respiratory illnesses in community settings.x Both cleaning and disinfecting are a part of SERVPRO of Jacksonville Beach/Ponte Vedra's scope of work and plan. The cleanup scope is dependent on the type of coronavirus situation.

1. High Touch Cleanup: Cleanup of high touch surfaces is required for a situation involving a person who is suspected to have COVID-19 or a Person Under Investigation (PUI); which is someone who is involved in a quarantine situation or has come in contact with someone who has been in a quarantine situation, or has come in contact with someone testing positive. This includes cleaning and disinfecting of high touch nonporous surfaces and cleaning and sanitizing of high touch porous surfaces.

2. Enhanced Cleanup: Enhanced cleanup is required for an area in which a person who has been confirmed positive for COVID-19 has inhabited. This includes cleaning and disinfecting of all nonporous surfaces and cleaning and sanitizing of all porous surfaces. This enhanced cleaning includes walls up to 8 feet (breathable air) but excludes ceilings.

A combination of High Touch Cleanup and Enhanced Cleanup may be needed within a structure based on where the infected individual has directly traveled or occupied.  

Some items may need to be pretested to determine if cleaning and disinfecting are possible without causing damage. SERVPRO of Mandarin is always cautious of valuable pieces of art; some cleaning processes could cause damage to these items. A part of the scope of work will include protective measures such as isolation and containment, safety training, personal protective equipment, and supervision of safe work practices to ensure the health and safety of occupants and workers. The scope of work will be created and agreed upon by YOU, the customer, and the SERVPRO of Jacksonville Beach/Ponte Vedra to ensure a set of agreeable expectations. The customer needs to acknowledge that cleaning and disinfecting will only apply to the current state of the structure and contents. This will be documented with the form Request for Cleaning and Disinfection to Limit the Survival of Emerging Viral Pathogens - including Coronavirus 3-10-2020. The structure would not be protected from future SARS-CoV-2 contamination if an infected person were to enter and occupy the building after disinfection.

vii https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/guidance-prevent-
spread.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Fguidance-prevent-spread.html

ix https://www.issa.com/infectionprevention

x https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/organizations/cleaning-disinfection.html