Author: Heather Scrooby

Before Covid-19, it was normal for people to share transport to and from work.  While the recommendation is to not share lifts at all, this is not always possible.  So how do we tackle social distancing and travel to work safely post Covid-19?

Here are some points to assist you:

• Sit as far apart from other occupants in the vehicle as possible (see recommendation picture below);
• The driver should wear disposable gloves; (To prevent the driver from being impeded, they should not wear a sneeze guard.)
• Passengers should wear disposable gloves and sneeze guards for driver and other passenger safety;
• Keep the windows slightly open for added ventilation;
• Ensure the air-conditioning is not recirculating air;
• After each journey, throw away the gloves.
• Put names on all the sneeze guards to avoid sharing;
• Passengers should sit in the same place each journey;
• The sneeze guards should be left on each passenger’s seat for the next journey;
• Sanitise the vehicle daily. – with special focus on the areas shown in the image below;
• If you have any symptoms of Covid-19 do not travel with anyone, seek HSE clarification.

Recommended seating arrangements for shared travelling to work safely after Covid-19.

The primary recommendation to travel to work safely after Covid-19 is to have one occupant per vehicle.  But if you have to take a passenger, sit as far apart as possible.

The following is a suggested visual guide on how to sit:

Sanitising the vehicle should happen every day.  On the inside and outside of the vehicle.

Extra care and attention should be applied to high touch zones.  The following diagram shows where these high touch zones are:

Covid-19 has changed the way we live, and will continue to impact our lives for a long time to come.  Integrating these new ways into our lives will help us beat Covid-19; and be better equipped to deal with any future threats.

In order to be protected you need to know how to correctly and safely use a face mask.

Do face masks really work?

This is a question everyone has been asking.  Is it really worth wearing a mask and what are the benefits and drawbacks of doing so?  There are many arguments for and against the use of the masks, however the debate is not if a mask can help – everyone agrees they do help – the debate is about how you intend to use of the mask and how you apply it and remove it.  It is this that determines if a mask will help you or perhaps make the threat worse.  It is critically important to know how to correctly use a face mask in order for it to protect you instead of work against you.

What type of mask is best for you?

With the threat of the Coronavirus we now see many people out and about wearing a face mask.   We see all types and sizes of face masks used.  There are disposable face masks, surgical face masks and we are even seeing more and more home-made face masks.  When choosing a face mask choose one that fits comfortably on your face.  If it is too tight it will rub on the sensitive areas of your face; this is not only uncomfortable but will result you in touching the front of the mask and causing unnecessary risk.  If the mask it too loose, it will not afford you much protection and is more likely to cause extra risk.  Ensure you can also breath easily in the mask you choose.  If you are not able to breathe well, you are likely to subconsciously remove your mask.  The rule of thumb is : choose one that feels comfortable when you put it on.

Do any of these face masks provide protection?

In theory any type of mask will assist in helping prevent infection – some better than others.  But none can guarantee that you will not get infected.  How you put the mask on and take it off is extremely important. A mask prevents contaminated droplets from coming in contact with your mouth where you are at risk of being infected.  This means that whenever you use a mask there is a possibility that the virus may land on the mask when you are wearing it.  If you then touch the masks surface at any time, the virus can potentially be transferred to your hands.

The number one rule in putting on or taking off a face mask is to use only the elastic straps.

I am going to repeat that because it is extremely important: whenever you put on or take off a face mask you should use the elastic straps only!  The second rule is : wash your hands both before you put on a mask and after you take it off.  The third rule we have already covered: never touch the front of the face mask.  If you do happen to touch the front of your mask by accident, wash your hands or use hand sanitiser immediately.

After removing a face mask.

Immediately dispose of disposable masks once removed.  Washable cloth masks should be handled very carefully to ensure the front of the mask does not come into contact with any surfaces or other objects that could potentially come into contact with your hands.

Always wash your hands where possible or use Hand sanitiser if this is not possible. Click here for options on our available face masks and click here for our sanitising options.

You can get more information from the HSE website HERE.

The threat of COVID-19 is to more than our health.  Our need to protect ourselves from COVID-19 is going to cost our environment for years to come… unless we do something about it.

The COVID-19 Environmental Threat

Most of us are firmly focused on keeping ourselves protected and following the advice of the healthcare officials.  In order to do this we are purchasing much more hand and other cleaning/sanitising products.

An article published in a recent issue of the Modern Builder estimates that ten million hand sanitiser bottles will shortly be heading to UK landfills.  Ireland will be suffering a similar fate.  Unless we do something quickly.

What can we do to minimise the COVID-19 Environmental Threat without risking our health?

The short answer is recycle, recycle, recycle.  And I don’t mean just throwing your bottles into the recycle bin – although that is an important part of it;  If we just recycle, we are still contributing to the continual demand and creation of new plastic products.  Before we recycle we should first try and re-use.  By re-using before we recycle, we reduce the need to create new plastic products.  If we combine re-use and recycling we make a much bigger and longer lasting impact.

So how do we re-use hand sanitiser bottles?

At ACRA we have always understood the concept of re-use, which is why we provide the ability to refill your hand sanitiser bottles with quality hand sanitising/cleaning products.  Not only do refills help the planet by reducing the need for new plastic bottles, it also helps save your pocket.  Refills are much cheaper than buying a product off the shelf.  You can see some of our refill options by CLICKING HERE.

How to correctly recycle hand sanitiser bottles.

Once you have refilled your bottle numerous times, it will eventually reach its end of life.  When this happens you should then recycle your bottle by following the guidelines below:

1. Wash the bottle well to remove all left over sanitiser/soap/residue;
2. Remove the cap (it is a different grade of plastic and will be recycled separately – if it is a pump action check with your local recycling unit if it is currently recycled);
3. Place the recyclable plastic into the relevant bins.

We can all make a difference to our environment.  We hope to see you soon with your hand sanitiser bottle for us to refill.

How can you help stop the spread of Covid-19?

When it comes to stopping the spread of Covid 19 infection we keep getting told that we,as the Public, have an important role to play.

We continually get told we should wash our hands – we did a post on the importance of washing hands here.

But washing your hands is only one part in stopping the spread of Covid-19.

What is the Coronavirus?

To learn what we can do to help stop the spread of this virus we first need to understand how Covid-19 acts and how it is spread.

Coronavirus (caused by Covid-19) is a respiratory illness; This means it is mostly spread through virus-laden droplets from coughs and sneezes from an infected person.

The first step in stopping the Spread of Covid-19

This brings us to the first part of the infection cycle and our first role to play in fighting Covid-19.  If we do not catch coughs and sneezes in a tissue, hanky or other means as advised by the HSE, the virus will end up on surfaces.  Here it can live for some time.  If someone then touches the contaminated surface the virus can transfer onto their hands.  If we all catch our sneezes and coughs as advised and dispose of the tissues or hankies used for this purpose, we limit the viruses ability to spread.  Even if you think you do not have the virus, doing this is important.  Some people do not experience symptoms and yet they can still spread the virus.  Be considerate, do your part and protect those around you.  Catch your coughs and sneezes.

The second step in stopping the spread of Covid-19

If an infected person does not do their part and follow the simple advice above, they will contaminate areas around them.  Someone then comes along and touches the contaminate surface. They now likely have the virus on your hands.  They then infect themselves by touching their eyes, mouth or nose. Don’t think you touch your face often?  A 2015 study found that we touch our faces on average 23 times an hour.

We also have a role to play by cleaning and sanitizing often touched surfaces.  This will kill the virus and prevent it from getting onto the hands and clothes of friends and family.  Remember, if it is on your clothes and gets in contact with an often touched area it can transfer to that area and find its way to your families hands.  Sanitising commonly used areas in your home reduces the risk of your family touching a potentially infected area.  You can use a surface sanitiser such as found on our page https://acraltd.ie/product-category/sanitizers/ to sanitise surfaces in your home and lessen the risk of infection for you, your family, friends and the public at large.