WASHROOM
THE CHRISTMASWASHROOM
People the world over will be getting together during the next few weeks to socialise with friends and family. But the risk of contracting colds, flu and Covid-19 inevitably rises whenever people congregate to party. Lee Radzki from Tork manufacturer Essity, considers ways of keeping public washrooms safe this winter.
For many of us, the Christmases of 2020 and 2021 have become a distant –and somewhat unwelcome – memory.
When Covid-19 was at its height we were all desperate to avoid contracting the disease, particularly in the run-up to the festive season. In 2020 it became irrelevant anyway as many were banned from celebrating Christmas with anyone outside our immediate ‘bubbles’.
But in 2021 we had to make strategic decisions and avoid any unnecessary pre-holiday gatherings in a bid to remain healthy for that long-awaited family get-together.
Luckily, those days are mostly behind us. But Covid-19 remains an ever-present threat.
Since routine testing is no longer necessary there is no reliable data about how widely the illness is circulating. During the summer it was believed that a new group of variants - known collectively as FLiRT – were accounting for many of the cases around at the time. Then in October, further warnings emerged about another new Covid variant known as XEC.
Doctors compared it with the ‘flu but stressed that its symptoms were even more intense. And they warned that the XEC variant was rapidly spreading worldwide and appeared set to become the predominant strain.
Meanwhile the cold and flu season is also upon us and no-one wants to be ill at Christmas since this might lead
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to enforced isolation from family and friends. So, what can we do to keep ourselves safe when attending parties, meals out and other festive gatherings?
The simple act of washing the hands regularly can significantly reduce the risk of contracting various illnesses – particularly after using public transport and touching frequently-touched surfaces. And hand-washing is easily achievable in away-from-home washrooms.
However, the toilets in restaurants, pubs and bars pose risks of their own at Christmas. Festive celebrations tend to lead to large numbers of people drinking more excessively than usual and paying more frequent trips to the washroom, and this can lead to overcrowding and congestion.
It is difficult to avoid coming into close contact with other people in a busy toilet, so the risk of becoming infected will inevitably be greater here. Queueing can lead to impatience and frustration among washroom users, who will be more likely to skimp on their hand hygiene as a result.
Cleaning teams also come under increased pressure when the washrooms are overcrowded. While they will still be expected to thoroughly clean all surfaces to reduce the risk of cross-contamination, this will become more difficult to achieve in a busy facility where everyone is fighting for space.
The fact that they will need to continually replenish the soap and paper supplies can also be a problem. Run-outs
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