Decontamination Guidance
As we confront the new normal for the foreseeable future, many of us are turning our attention to what we will need to do to prepare our facilities to hopefully reopen in the fall. To that end, we have created the MJ Sorority Cleaning Guidelines for COVID-19 resource, based on CDC guidelines for university housing.
Based on expert's recommendations, we are recommending that you decontaminate your properties as if there has been COVID-19 exposure at your facility. That way, you can ensure that your property's baseline is decontaminated until which time members and employees return to the property. If you still have members and employees at the facility, you will want to schedule a thorough decontamination prior to re-opening the facility.
If you have a local cleaning firm that you trust, we recommend that you verify with them that they are adhering to the CDC guidelines for decontamination of COVID-19.
There are two national firms that come recommended for COVID-19 decontamination:
ServiceMaster DSI
Clean Harbors
Some FAQs about decontamination
Question: How long can the virus survive on a surface? Can’t I just wait for it to die and avoid cleaning and disinfecting?
The CDC reports that the virus has been detected in the air for as much as three hours after it is aerosolized and up to 17 days on some inanimate surfaces. Not all surfaces have been tested and it is not yet know how much of the virus material is required to contract COVID-19. CDC currently does not have enough information about SARS-CoV-2 to be able to make a definitive statement on how long to quarantine an area for it to be reduced to an acceptable risk level. For these reasons, the cleaning and disinfection processes described by CDC continue to be the recommendation.
Question: Can our own employees do the disinfection of the facility?
There is no restriction against an employer cleaning and disinfection their own facility; however, there are certain regulatory requirements that must be met in order to be in compliance with OSHA and EPA regulations:
- OSHA’s Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) standards (29 CFR 1910 Subpart I), require training when using gloves, eye and face protection, and respiratory protection.
- When respirators are necessary to protect workers, employers must implement a comprehensive respiratory protection program in accordance with the OSHA’s Respiratory Protection standard (29 CFR 1910.134). This includes a written program, respirator fit tests and medical clearance to wear air purifying respirators. NOTE: Facemasks that are worn to protect others from the spread of pathogens and not to protect the wearer do not have the fit test and medical clearance requirements.
- OSHA has issued a statement regarding COVID-19 Waste: “…use typical engineering and administrative controls, safe work practices, and PPE, such as puncture-resistant gloves and face and eye protection, to prevent worker exposure to the waste streams (or types of wastes), including any contaminants in the materials, they manage. Such measures can help protect workers from sharps and other items that can cause injuries or exposures to infectious materials.” Failure to properly manage the waste could lead to cross-contamination and further infection risks.
- CDC says that most household disinfectants are effective at reducing the risk of infection, but it is important to use only disinfectants that are registered with the EPA.
- OSHA has recently issued a pamphlet entitled, Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19. This document is valuable source of information for employers who want to address the COVID-19 situation. It will help identify at risk employees and provide risk mitigation strategies to employ.
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Important Property Reminders
The sudden closure of many of our properties present exposures that may be easily overlooked. Make sure that you have taken the following proactive steps for closed facilities:
- Secure external doors and windows and activate your building security system. If you do not have a security system, schedule drive-bys of the facility.
- Maintain building heating systems to prevent water pipes from freezing or damage to sensitive equipment. Also maintain electrical power if it supports critical equipment.
- Keep the automatic fire protection systems on and in service.
- Notify the campus police department that the property will be vacant and provide emergency notification phone numbers to the police.
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Property Webinar: COVID-19 Implications for Sorority Facilities + Property Basics
MJ Sorority is hosting a webinar this Wednesday to share our decontamination recommendations and other implications facing sorority properties in light of COVID-19. While we have you, we'll review some "property basics" that all House Corporation volunteers should know.
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COVID-19 Response
We have created a page on our website for our resources and FAQs related to COVID-19. This situation is very fluid and changing hour-by-hour, so be sure to bookmark this page and continue to refer to it for additional information as we have it.
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COVID-19 Webinars
We have recorded several webinars over the last few weeks for our clients. Check out the recorded versions if you haven't already.
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In the latest episode of this popular webinar we will review actual employee benefits compliance questions we have received from employers and go over our answers in detail. No theoretical stuff here, these questions cover real compliance and employee benefits administrative issues employers face every day. We will even throw in a couple questions from “way out in left field.” It can be interesting, and informative, to learn about some of the crazy things other employers have had to deal with!
Register here.
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