Convention Centres, Shopping Malls, and Office Buildings are all public spaces that need to take decisive action to prevent the spread of Novel Coronavirus.
How Safe is “Safe Enough”?
How many people walk in and out of your business every single day? 50? 100? 1,000? This number varies from location to location. But all it takes is one person who has been exposed to COVID-19 (Coronavirus) to potentially infect your workers and/or customers at an exponential rate. It’s unclear right now how long the virus remains active on hard surfaces like walls, floors, and hand rails. However, medical experts have confirmed that the virus does pass from person to person, as you might expect.
While senior citizens and people with compromised immune systems are frequently noted as the most susceptible to becoming infected and harmed by the virus, even younger people can be affected. While we continue to stress the importance of taking preventative action for retirement homes and nursing homes, we want to extend our suggestion to healthcare facilities and workplaces of all kinds.
In fact, we would particularly suggest an increased amount of nurses with virus-screening skills to work in neonatal intensive care units and children’s hospitals. While a Washington Post article from March 10th has indicated that the Coronavirus is “sparing” children, Canada’s healthcare system cannot completely predict how the virus might evolve over time. If we wait to see what might happen, infants and children will be put at risk.
Successful Preventative Measures Against Viruses
When the chief of marketing of a large convention centre contacted us seeking a way to control the spread of COVID-19 during a large event, we answered quickly. Hundreds of conference participants would be entering and exiting the convention centre at all times of the day, presenting our client a serious risk. Some participants would have travelled a long distance, from out of country in some cases, to attend the event. In their travels, there was a risk that they would have come into contact with a carrier of COVID-19.
In response to this risk, we communicated with our nurses in the convention centre’s surrounding area, to place them at several entrances to the conference for participant screening. Nurses utilized heat scanning technology and other tools to check for COVID-19 symptoms. While we initially thought nurses would be hesitant to work in this type of environment, with the potential of exposure to the virus, our nurses leapt into action. They were eager to do their part and help attendants of the conference.
When conferences around the world have been cancelled altogether, this conference continued safely, as planned, and all attendees felt especially secure while they enjoyed the event.