COVID-19 Cleaning Protocols
Your health is important to us. We're taking steps to protect the campus community from the spread of COVID-19. Our cleaning products and procedures have proven effective in mitigating the spread of common bacteria and viruses on campus through surface contamination. We have reviewed our protocols to verify that they comply with CDC guidance related to COVID-19. We have also provided our staff members with additional training and equipment.
If you work on campus, please help our efforts by cleaning/disinfecting your personal workspace on a regular basis.
Improved Training and Equipment
We have provided staff members with face masks and training on the following topics:
- Wearing and disposing of PPE.
- Minimizing contact with others.
- Handling new disinfecting products.
- CDC recommendations on cleaning and disinfecting.
In addition, we've expanded our use of electrostatic sprayers, which enable disinfecting products to cover a wider surface area. We've also increased our use of microfiber cloths, which are more effective at mechanically cleaning surfaces than other wipe products.
Routine and Enhanced Cleaning
Our staff use HEPA equipped filtering vacuums, disinfectants and general-purpose cleaning products to complete the following routine cleaning:
- Sweep, mop and/or vacuum floors.
- Dust flat surfaces.
- Dust, sweep and/or vacuum main stairwells and elevators.
- Empty and wipe down exteriors of centralized waste collection stations.
- Clean/disinfect restrooms, common spaces and high-touch areas.
In addition to routine cleaning, our staff performs enhanced cleaning focused on common/public areas:
- Clean/disinfect restrooms, lobbies, lounges, break rooms, hallways and other high-traffic areas.
- Clean/disinfect doorknobs, door push plates, light switches, elevator buttons, handrails and other high-touch points in common spaces.
Please note: To minimize entry into individual work areas, we collect trash daily from a centrally located container. Please transfer trash from your individual container to the designated collection point, which is identified with a "Centralized Waste Station" sticker.
Cleaning Schedule
We established the following cleaning schedule using CDC guidelines:
Daily (Monday-Friday):
- Clean/disinfect public areas: restrooms, locker rooms, lobbies, lounges, break rooms, hallways, conference rooms, library sitting areas, main stairwells.
- Clean/disinfect high-touch points.
- Clean/disinfect classrooms, lecture halls and laboratories (Disinfecting wipes are available in classrooms for sanitizing personal work surfaces.).
- Empty centralized waste collection stations.
Bi-monthly:
- Lightly dust and vacuum personal workspaces.
Please note: High-traffic areas and high-touch surfaces may be cleaned/disinfected more frequently.
Contamination Response
We have developed strategies to employ when COVID-19 contamination is suspected or confirmed. In each instance, we'll balance operational needs with the potential for reducing exposure.
General response:
- Normal PPE.
- Leave room unoccupied for three days.
- Routine cleaning/disinfection.
Medium-impact response:
- Increased PPE may be required.
- Routine cleaning/disinfection (if more than 24 hours have passed). A combination of electrostatic equipment and mechanical methods may be used.
Elevatedimpact response:
- Increased PPE.
- Clean/disinfect using electrostatic equipment and mechanical methods (if less than 24 hours have passed).
