CDC Updates Guidance for Cleaning Facilities

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) updated guidance for caring for facilities outside of healthcare suggests these places are cleaned once a day, at minimum.

It is the opinion of the CDC that a once-a-day cleaning with soap and water is sufficient enough to remove viruses from surfaces at a time where there’s no reports of a facility or its occupants suffering from COVID-19. To ensure that any germs remaining on surfaces after cleaning are killed, the CDC suggests using a disinfectant. A disinfectant on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s List N is especially recommended as items on that list have been proven to kill COVID-19.

However, the CDC says facilities might want to clean more frequently or choose to disinfect shared spaces in situations where:

– There is a high local transmission of COVID-19.

– Few occupants are wearing masks.

– Occupants are infrequently practicing hand hygiene.

– The facility is used by populations that are at greater risk of suffering severe illness due to COVID-19.

Furthermore, if a sick person or someone who tested positive for COVID-19 has been in a facility within the past 24 hours, the CDC says that facility should be both cleaned and disinfected.

The CDC’s updated guidance also discusses what types of surfaces should be cleaned and disinfected, how to develop a cleaning plan, alternatives to traditional disinfection methods, and other factors for employers and facility operators to consider. To read the entire guidance, click here.