COVID-19 Disinfection: a Cape Town guide

Know what you are dealing with

Most of the call-outs we get are workplaces where a staff member has tested positive and management wants the floor treated before people come back in. We also do homes after a family member has recovered, especially where an elderly or immune-compromised relative lives in the house. Care facilities, crèches, gyms and small clinics' waiting areas ask for the same treatment after a run of illness. Vehicles are another one: delivery bakkies, shuttles and company cars that several drivers share. Some businesses book a disinfection before a big reopening or an audit, simply to start with a clean baseline.

Myths, mistakes and lesser-known facts

For homes with small children or pets, the main rule is simple: everybody out during the treatment, windows open afterwards, and wait out the re-entry time we give you.

Landlords sometimes ask us to treat a flat between tenants after illness. It is a reasonable step, and the written report is useful if anyone asks questions later.

Disinfection is not a substitute for ventilation. In a Cape Town winter it is tempting to keep everything closed, but fresh air does a lot of the work for you.

Warning signs

1. A staff member, resident or regular visitor has tested positive or gone home sick with flu-like symptoms.
2. Several people in the same office or household have fallen ill within a few days of each other.
3. Shared equipment such as till points, keyboards, phones and kitchen counters is used by many hands every day.
4. You are about to reopen a space that was closed because of illness.
5. Vulnerable people, such as the elderly or anyone on chemotherapy, live or work in the building.
6. A client, landlord or head office has asked for proof that the premises were disinfected.
7. Normal cleaning has been done, but nobody has wiped door handles, light switches and lift buttons properly.

Respiratory viruses spread mainly through the air between people, but contaminated surfaces play a part, particularly in busy shared spaces. For a business the bigger cost is often staff absence: one case that turns into five can empty a small office for a week. There is also a trust issue, because staff and customers want to know something was actually done. Surface disinfection lowers the load on surfaces, but it does not replace ventilation, staying home when sick or medical advice.

Can you do it yourself?

A household with one sick person can do a decent job with gloves, a disinfectant and some discipline about door handles and the bathroom. For an office, a shop or a care facility, I would get it done professionally, partly for the thoroughness and partly because you get a written record that it was done properly.

Seasonal pattern

Our busiest disinfection months are the wet Cape winters, from about May to August, when people are packed indoors with the windows shut and flu and colds spread fast. We still see call-outs in summer, usually after a single case in an office or a care home.

Prevention checklist

• Keep people at home when they are sick. It does more than any amount of spraying.
• Open windows where you can. Cape Town's south-easter is good for something, and moving air dilutes airborne virus.
• Put a daily wipe-down of handles, switches and shared phones on someone's task list, not just the cleaner's.
• Place hand sanitiser at entrances, the kitchen and the till, and keep it topped up.
• Stop sharing headsets, pens and keyboards between shifts where you can avoid it.
• Know who to phone before you need it, so a positive case does not turn into a day of scrambling.

What affects the price

The cost depends mostly on floor area and how many separate rooms need fogging. Heavy furniture, lots of electronics or food preparation areas take more time because they need careful wiping and covering. After-hours or weekend work and repeat treatments during an ongoing outbreak also affect the quote, which is free.

Frequently asked questions

Areas we cover for COVID-19 disinfection