Over the last weeks, our clients have been asking us questions regarding the 2019 Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). In the unlikely likelihood of a Coronavirus disease outbreak in the New York City area, Busy Bee recommends its clients to follow guidelines and recommendations issued by government agencies, recognized international cleaning associations, and cleaning chemicals suppliers. We strongly recommend our clients to stick to official and well-known sources of information, since this topic is relatively new and there is a lot of misguiding information online. As official guidelines will be released, we will do our best efforts to update you accordingly.

Also, it is extremely important to follow the directions for use, presented in the packaging label of each product, as directions for dilution rates, exposure time and application method, among others, will severely impact the final disinfecting efficacy. It is considered a violation of Federal law to use chemical cleaners in a manner inconsistent with its labeling.

We hope that the following list of links and key topics helpful to clarify some of the questions you may have.

Disclaimer: we are not affiliated with any of these sources.

*Note that depending on the date in which certain articles and documents were published they may refer to the “Wuhan Coronavirus” as SARS-CoV-2 or 2019nCoV. The Coronavirus Disease has been named COVID-19.

1) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

The following link is a Guidance for Businesses and Employers to Plan and Respond to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). There is one specific paragraph about workplace cleaning guidelines to be followed “at this time”.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/specific-groups/guidance-business-response.html

The following link presents everyday preventive actions to help minimize the spread of respiratory diseases.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/prevention-treatment.html

2) The Clorox Company – Cleaning Instructions

In the following link, Clorox suggests the usage of certain products to Coronavirus disinfection, based on effectiveness demonstrated against viruses that are similar to SARS-CoV-2.
https://www.clorox.com/how-to/disinfecting-sanitizing/cold-flu-other-diseases/help-prevent-the-spread-of-the-human-novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov/

3) International Supply Association (ISSA)

The following link presents general guidance for personal protective equipment for two different scenarios: a) workers who enter into spaces where an infected individual is, and b) workers who enter into spaces where an infectious individual has been, but is no longer present.
https://www.issa.com/wp-content/uploads/ISSA-GBAC-Tips-Sheet-1_30_2020.pdf

4) American Chemistry Council (ACC)

The following article compiles a list of products that have been pre-approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for use against emerging enveloped viral pathogens and “can be used” during a COVID-19 outbreak
https://www.americanchemistry.com/Novel-Coronavirus-Fighting-Products-List.pdf