Protecting Stadium Crowds Through Washroom Hygiene
With sports clubs finally welcoming fans back into stadiums, Steve Levy, the innovator behind Sterillo, explains why a dual approach to washroom hygiene can help keep COVID transmission under control.
For many sports fans, it has been well over a year since they set foot in a stadium. But with COVID restrictions now scrapped, people have finally been able to return to support their beloved teams, and enjoy live sport once again.
But with the crowds comes the risk of infection transmission. COVID, and other seasonal illness, are very much in circulation and mass gatherings, even outdoors, can create the perfect environment for pathogens to spread.
Communal areas such as stadium bars and washrooms pose the greatest risks. In fact, washrooms are notorious bacteria breeders. And if stringent hygiene measures are not observed, virus outbreaks are pretty much inevitable.
Understanding The Risks
With lockdown restrictions now lifted, people are understandably keen to get back to their normal way of life. For many, sport is a big part of this, but they need to be aware of the risks when attending a live game.
For example, the Euro 2020 games that took place at Wembley this summer were branded ‘superspreader events’, with data from NHS Test and Tracing showing that more than 9,000 Covid cases were linked to matches. The final between England and Italy in particular, saw a potential 3,404 people catching the virus, according to Public Health England (PHE).
As the country’s infection levels fluctuate over the coming months, people need to ensure that when they are out in public, they follow strict hygiene measures to try and reduce the risk wherever possible.
Hand Hygiene
From day one of the outbreak, hand hygiene has been one of the main lines of defence against Covid. The nation was given strict instructions to wash hands properly and regularly.
But what many people do not realise is that the drying part of the process is just as vital. In fact, with damp hands a thousand times more likely to spread germs, hand washing is almost pointless if you ignore the hand dryer on the way out of the washroom.
As the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the NHS guidelines suggest, drying hands properly is a crucial step in the hand hygiene process and should not be ignored.
Airborne Risks
After living with Covid for over 18-months now, we understand how it spreads. Of course, touch is one cause of transmission, but we now know that it is a predominantly airborne virus.
This is why it is vital to keep the air as sterile as possible, particularly in high-traffic, bacteria-breeding environments like the washroom.
A Dual Approach
Combining hand hygiene and air sterilisation can help keep on top of outbreaks and limit the risk of infection. Our Sterillo DUO is the most hygienic hand dryer on the market, and the only unit in the world capable of killing viruses like COVID-19.
It couples rapid hand drying with our state-of-the-art air sterilisation technology, which kills 99.9% of all airborne germs. The unit draws in air to the mirrored killing chamber, sterilises it with UVC light rays, and recirculates clean air, rendering germs unable to multiply.
The technology, which has been extensively tested at the UK Government’s Public Health England labs at Porton Down, has been proven to kill 98.9% of germs within one hour of being switched on. It then continues to sterilise the air continuously, up to ten times every hour.
By strengthening your defence with a dual approach to washroom hygiene, you can keep fans safe and live sport open for all to enjoy once again.
For further information on the Sterillo technology, visit https://www.handydryers.co.uk/sterillo.html
