HERE WE WILL TALK ABOUT MEASURES TO COPE WITH INFECTIOUS DISEASES IN EACH COMMUNITY CONSIDERING ECOLOGICAL, SOCIAL, AND ECONOMIC ASPECTS.
The way that we do something is the way that we do everything. Dealing with the COVID pandemic shows how a government, public organization or enterprise operate. It is a good insight into their management structures, their way or working and the way they look after their people. In this article, we will split the countermeasures by the organization implementing them.
Government Countermeasures
Much of the countermeasures made at the highest level relate to the movement of people. Countries have created ‘red lists.’ These restrict movement of people from one country to another – usually COVID hotspots. Managing a pandemic is about managing infection. It goes to stand that fewer people in the country overall means fewer chances for infection. Travel rules between countries have focused on restricting movement, tests for travellers and COVID vaccinations. And all of these are valid ways of managing the potential for people entering a country and causing an infection event.
Governments have also invested money into innovation and research for measures that counter infection. Grants have been offered, as well as creating an environment that innovative companies such as ACLIV can thrive in. We have developed multiple solutions that help people stay safe at home and on their travels, including –
- Screen protectors
- Surface protection film
- Air filters that eliminate viruses and bacteria
- A pouch that keeps items safe and virus free due to the way it is made
Governments have also given advice to the public such as the wearing of face masks, social distancing and working from home. These countermeasures have helped people stay away from each other – again reducing the potential for the virus to be transmitted.
Public Organization Countermeasures
In many countries across the world, everything changed overnight. Schools closed, children being taught via Zoom or Microsoft Teams from the comfort of their own home. This meant that the interactive nature of the classroom was vastly diminished, but the safety of pupils was paramount.
Hospitals stopped all non-essential operations with waiting lists spiralling to levels never seen before. This was to ensure that COVID patients were given absolute priority and also so resources could be diverted away from the rest of the hospital to the front line. Doctors and nurses died from COVID. We had to do something different.
Other public facilities were closed, such as libraries and local healthcare facilities. We are yet to fully see the impact of the closures and how it affects the job opportunities of this generation, the ongoing healthcare of the population and other factors such as literacy.
Enterprise Countermeasures
Much of the legislation and regulation issued by governments has fallen on individual businesses to implement. For example, managing the use of face masks inside buildings hasn’t been patrolled by public authorities such as the police but by individual locations, sometimes leading to abuse. But there are some countermeasures adopted by enterprise that have been successful and will continue beyond the COVID-present into the COVID-free future.
Practicing what has been called ‘respiratory hygiene’ has become a major part of allowing people to return to work safely. This includes ventilation, social distancing and wearing of face coverings in communal areas. But that doesn’t cover all bases. The use of effective air filters, such as the ones developed by ACLIV, provide clean, safe air all day long, being verified as 99.9% efficient against the coronavirus.
Clean desk policies are another major factor in keeping COVID at bay. In the modern workplace, hot desks are much more commonplace. This means the potential of passing the virus between people. But even if an employee has their own desk, the responsibility of keeping it clean and disinfected falls on that individual in many cases. This is made easier by the provision of disinfectant, wipes and gel to employees. ACLIV surface protection film can be used to limit the dangers lurking on surfaces. It covers existing surfaces in a kind of retro-fit manner and kills viruses and bacteria – including COVID.
Remote working has become the norm over the past couple of years. Meetings have become something done online rather than in person. This limits the contact between people, even if they are located in the same building. Conference calls are a thing of the present – and of the future.
Touchscreens have become an integral part of work life over the past few years. But there are inherent dangers in providing a screen to touch that has been touched by many other people. In public service setting such as a doctor’s surgery, this can be even more perilous. ACLIV have developed touchscreen filters that eliminate COVID and other viruses on contact, rendering the screen safe.
COVID And Ecology
The effect of coronavirus on the ecology of the planet is a mixed bag. In the short term, the carbon footprint of the planet dropped significantly as planes were grounded, factories closed, and people stayed at home. Looking back, commentators have likened the impact on the ecology to what happened after the 2009 economic crash. Back then, as the economy recovered, the planet suffered. Production levels rose to record highs. Governments introduced incentives to get industry back up and running. We started polluting again. Let’s hope that this time, the government incentives are as green as possible, incentivizing companies to lower their carbon footprint at the same time they increase their production.
Governments, public organizations and enterprise will have a vast array of things to focus on over the coming years. And we fear that ecology might be lower on their list of priorities than profits. Here at ACLIV, to protect our earth, we start with eco-friendly packaging in spite of 3 times higher cost. The packaging of our screen protectors is made of sugarcane under the standards of “Non-Timber”, “Non-Bleach” and “Biodegradable” Even plastic bag inside the packaging is “fully biodegradable”. It is vitally important to us to look after the planet as we look after people.