To provide a clean and safe atmosphere for our students, faculty and staff, the Cornell Building Care staff uses only Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved disinfectants and industry best practices on an ongoing daily basis in our buildings. We also monitor the EPA, CDC and public health organizations and follow any new cleaning recommendations they have related to the virus.
We have enhanced our cleaning regimen whereby high touch point areas, such as door handles, light switches, and tables, are disinfected twice a day. Cleaning is performed using a cleaning agent approved by the EPA to kill SARS-COV2, the virus that causes COVID-19. There are also dedicated isolation and quarantine rooms on campus with a small, dedicated team of staff that are fully trained to clean and disinfect these rooms after any use, along with following CDC protocols to ensure that all materials that leave these areas are properly disposed of without endangering the welfare of others.
The CDC also has guidelines that everyone can use for creating a household plan of action, including recommendations for home cleaning and disinfection. Be sure to read household cleaner instructions carefully. For example, many disinfecting wipes available at local stores requires four minutes of “wet dwell time” on a surface to be effective.
The virus that causes COVID-19 has a limited life span outside the human body. Under laboratory conditions SARS-CoV-2 is more stable on smooth surfaces. The virus is greatly reduced after 72 hours.
Current literature indicates that there is:
*The article does not discuss what the cloth is, and composition — material or weight — may play a role.
References:
The principal mode of transmission is thought to be respiratory droplets, which may travel up to 6 feet from someone that is sneezing or coughing. COVID-19 is not believed to be an airborne virus, like measles or smallpox, that can circulate through the air. Consequently, special air filters are not required in building HVAC systems.