I WAS glad to read that the GMB are championing the health and safety
concerns of the Cityclean workforce. In the past I have worked in the
field of heath and safety (for the city council) so I'd like to make some
observations to further help the staff.
Firstly, though their concern about catching the coronavirus by touching
contaminated surfaces is a real one, they should be reassured that this
method of transmission is a much lower risk than the direct
person-to-person spread associated with inhaling the exhaled breath of
an infected person (even a person who doesn't realise they have the
virus because they have no symptoms). The virus may survive for a
limited time on an object but it only lives and multiplies in our living
cells. It's killed by simple things like soap and cleaning wipes. I
don't know what the working practices are for crews during the pandemic,
but I assume there is some sort of "bubble" system so that people
generally work with the same people each day, limiting the number of
direct contacts at work.
I would be interested to know if that same crew
generally always use the same vehicle, again limiting their potential
indirect contact with others.
If crews are changing vehicles, I'd expect
a wipe-down of touched surfaces between users (door handles, controls
etc), much like a taxi driver should clean before the next fare.
The article made reference to the vehicles coming back from the workshop; a
similar wipe-down would again be recommended. But a deep-clean should
not be necessary unless there is a particularly high risk identified by
a risk assessment by a competent person. My car is going for MOT soon
and I won't expect the garage to deep-clean it, just wipe the controls
with a clinical wipe, even though I know that most mechanics routinely
wear gloves to protect their skin. My biggest concern for staff health
is based on the photos with The Argus article; instead of being out on
rounds in their crew "bubble", workers are shown sitting and standing in
groups in the yard, talking with co-workers with no masks or adequate
social distancing. The risk of catching Covid-19 is far higher in those
conditions than working out of a vehicle that hasn't been deep-cleaned.
Please guys, protect yourselves and your mates, stay safe and don't
spread the virus.
Dr Steve Waters
Saltdean
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