The implications of the latter were demonstrated by a Channel 4 Dispatches investigation. It swab-tested Underground trains and buses in London, looking for COVID-19, and found none. A stated conclusion was that Transport for London’s (TfL) disinfection programme was helping its passengers travel safely: a reassuring message for the capital’s transport authority.
I’m proud to say SafeGroup has an important role in that programme. We are carrying out electrostatic spraying on behalf of TfL for its bus operating companies.
We are also working with national retailers to help them prepare for the ending of the second Lockdown on 2 December, as they gear up for what must be one of the most important festive sales periods of the last half century.
Most people are now desperately hoping vaccines will end the COVID-19 crisis once and for all. The likelihood, however, is there are no silver bullets. Certainly not in the short term. It is not yet certain how effective any of the vaccines will be, including whether they will prevent transmission. In any case, it will take months to roll out a vaccination programme.
No one knows how many people will refuse to have the required jabs, though surveys indicate there are likely to be many, potentially undermining their effectiveness. Vaccines themselves can contribute to virus mutations, already a significant concern in the scientific community.
2021 onwards
All these factors tell me that the cleaning industry will be front and centre in the fight against COVID-19 for the
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foreseeable future. Public confidence will have to be maintained as we continue to firefight local outbreaks during 2021 and beyond. There will be no going back to a pre-COVID-19 normal.
Expectations of what is acceptable in terms of workplace hygiene have changed. Cleaning regimes have been intensified, even high-level cleaning, because FM managers now know workforce wellbeing and team morale demands higher standards.
COVID-19 has already transformed how we work, with more blended home and office working. This means even more hot desking. In turn, this is likely to require even more disinfection cleaning. COVID-19 has accelerated expertise on virus testing exponentially, and that capability will be fed into new sensitivities about other bugs, such as flu.
Government and businesses will want more robust pandemic contingencies in their continuity plans. We all know now that it is not if the next pandemic will strike, is just a matter of when. When New Scientist carries a large feature about behavioural change as a result of COVID-19 (‘Will we ever go back to shaking hands?’) you know change is likely to be profound.
The cleaning industry has responded robustly to the COVID-19 crisis. Its long-term role will emerge over the next 12 months. New forms of PPMs that integrate conventional and specialist soft FM services are likely. SafeGroup is ready to play its part.
www.thesafegroup.co.uk FEATURE | 45
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