Long Term Care Disinfection Protocols for COVID-19

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Long-term care (LTC) homes have become one of the front-lines of the fight against COVID-19 around the globe, but nowhere, more so than in Canada. As an indication of the situation, substantially more than 50 percent of the deaths from COVID-19 in Canada are in LTCs. In this regard, a fundamentally important element to improve the situation is for there to be effective disinfection strategies for LTC rooms, so that illness cycles can be disrupted, as one of the fundamental aspects of abating the growth of COVID-19 crisis. Approaches to disinfection of LTC rooms can be classified as manual and gaseous types, and costs and issues of safety are major considerations. While it seems intuitive, thorough cleaning/disinfection is a key to ensuring that disinfection is accomplished, thereby aiding both residents and employees. An easy way to help combat the spread of viral progression is to pay special attention to the top touch points in LTC facilities but those are needed to be maintained on a very frequent basis (e.g. door handles, faucets, food trays, countertops, chairs, tables, light switches, etc.) but for the more thorough disinfection, there are alternative approaches to disinfection which have been utilized (e.g. under the bed, cleaning of mattresses, curtains, etc.). The array of disinfection technologies have included use of hydrogen peroxide, and improved hydrogen peroxide, as well as lesser applied ones. To find knowledge in data, this research will examine the effectiveness of several vapor disinfectant procedures, using a variety of surface types and materials as evaluation tools. This focused research will undertake a series of substantial tests, to assemble summary information related to effectiveness of disinfection, cost, and safety.