Increased Hygiene & Sanitation

Minimum standards are recorded in this spreadsheet. 

The current minimum standards for Increased Hygiene and Sanitation are: 

• Follow good respiratory hygiene: cover your mouth and nose with your bent elbow or tissue when coughing or sneezing, avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands, and do not spit in public.

• Regularly and thoroughly wash your hands with soap and clean water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not immediately available, use alcohol-based hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol until you can access handwashing facilities.

• Cleaners will be trained to regularly and thoroughly clean and disinfect the base according to CDC guidelines. In depth training will be provided with good oversight to ensure cleaning staff remain safe and adhere to the high standards of sanitization.

• Cleaners must complete a daily checklist of spaces cleaned in order to ensure that cleaning frequency standards are met according to guidelines.

• Identify a process to do laundry safely that is appropriate to the base. Post and follow the guidelines provided.

• Hire and train cooks in local standards for food preparation and delivery.

• Stagger meal delivery/collection times, as necessary, to limit group gatherings

• Each individual is assigned their own plates and cutlery.

Each program will have their own cleaners. Cleaners can be hired from the local community and must be trained using CDC best practice guidance.

Training will include how to protect themselves and how to disinfect to the required standards. 

Resources for training can be found here. Staff will need to ensure that cleaners have read these instructions and have access to a physical copy throughout their employment.

Cleaners and staff should develop a cleaning plan together, agreeing on high-traffic areas and surfaces which should be cleaned more frequently. i.e. door handles, light switches, faucets and laundry facilities. In addition, control measures should be agreed to try and limit high traffic surfaces e.g. leave doors open where possible to minimize need to touch handles.

To ensure each area of the accommodation cleaning is completed to the frequency expected, cleaners will be asked to complete a daily checklist with the time each communal area was cleaned. The areas on the checklist should be those that have been agreed between the cleaners and staff. Example templates for cleaning by zone and an overall checklist can be found here.  These will need to be customized for each location and/or accommodation facility.

It is possible to utilize base duty to supplement cleaning efforts as long as it is done safely. Recommendations to consider:

• Stagger the time to ensure physical distancing

• Only clean communal, outdoor areas

• Assign sweeping and mopping as it requires less direct contact with surfaces

• Restocking of supplies 

• Deep clean of bubble sleeping quarters 

There is currently no evidence that COVID-19 is spread through contamination with food. However, it is possible that the virus can be spread from sharing of equipment or touching of surfaces.

Hand washing is encouraged for a minimum of twenty seconds prior to food preparation and again before eating. The CDC encourages normal food preparation safety practices.

To minimize the risk from sharing surfaces staff and volunteers will be allocated plates and cutlery upon arrival. Individually plated meals are encouraged over self-service buffets in order to reduce the risk of cross-contamination.

The kitchen will be cleaned at least once a day by trained cleaners, and cooks and individual users are also expected to disinfect the area and equipment they have used for food preparation. Please refer to the ‘Cleaning’ section.

Meal time collections should be staggered to ensure that social distancing measures can be maintained throughout the kitchen and communal spaces without compromising individuals.

Individual Food Preparation

For individually-prepared meals (i.e. breakfasts and lunches), a separate area should be designated within each bubble for food preparation OR communal kitchen usage should be staggered based on bubble assignments. 

Group Meals

For outsourced or base-wide meals (i.e. dinners), either individually-plated meals will be delivered to each bubble OR communal kitchen space should be staggered based on bubble assignments for food collection. For the latter option, hired cooks or designated staff/volunteers will serve meals to avoid cross-contamination through self-serve buffets. Meals should be consumed within each bubble’s designated eating space, and individual plates and cutlery should be washed or disposed of within this space as well.

Good ventilation should be considered as the norm. Outdoor space should be strongly favoured over indoor wherever possible. When you must be inside, good ventilation should be achieved in all spaces with more than one person in. This can be as simple as opening windows and doors.

For problem areas with regular footfall but poor ventilation, you could consider air purifier devices. Units with HEPA filters should reduce the risk of build up of airborne particles, but the overall effectiveness would be dependent on a number of factors, including correct survey and placement. Air purifiers with HEPA filters are not cheap, at ranging around $0.50 - $1 per square foot. Units will require mains power supply and maintenance (inc filter replacement).

It is important that a balance is found between safety, security and ventilation. Internal Fire doors should not be propped open. External facing windows at a ground level, or which are accessible, should be assessed for risk before being left open, especially unattended. Clearly mark with signs which windows and doors are safe to be left open. Signage linked here.

Soft Furnishings such as rugs and some types of seating are harder to disinfect. Where possible these should be removed from public areas.

For other soft furnishings and personal possessions laundry should be carried out according to CDC guidelines:

• Launder according to manufacturer’s guidelines – use the warmest temperature settings possible and dry items completely.

• Wear disposable gloves when handling dirty laundry that is not your own. Do not shake dirty items of clothing to minimize transference of any contaminated water droplets.

• Dirty laundry from a person who is sick can be washed with other people’s items. However, disposable gloves should be worn when handling their laundry. 

• Disinfect any objects used to transport laundry prior to collection of clean items.

• Wipe down and disinfect surfaces within the laundry room/area after use.

• Remove and dispose of gloves and wash your hands.

Reusable face coverings can be washed with regular laundry, or by hand. See further guidelines specific to face coverings here.

 Options for layout:

Proposal 1: If there is only one location to do laundry, a “laundry day” must be assigned to each bubble to reinforce the strategy of compartmentalization. Individual times to sign up to do laundry within each bubble should be staggered to ensure that social distancing measures can be maintained throughout.

Proposal 2: Allocate separate locations for each bubble to do their laundry using separate machines or buckets. If using machines, there should be individual times to sign up to do laundry within the bubble. If utilizing buckets, individuals can do their laundry at the same time as long as they are outside and there are markers placed to ensure there is the 6 feet minimum distance between each person.

Signage linked here.

Use non-touch trash cans (foot operated or lidless depending on location) when possible. Make sure trash cans are emptied regularly and disposable gloves are worn when removing garbage bags and handling and disposing of trash. Wash hands immediately after handling or disposing of trash.