In this article Covid testing near me, a guide on testing and cleaning for businesses. The COVID pandemic has had a major impact on businesses around the world. In fact, businesses from almost every industry have had to deal with a slew of issues due to COVID.
During this time, businesses have needed to change policy, keep workers home, or even close. Some of these disruptions have been unavoidable, especially at the start of the pandemic. Thankfully, these interferences don’t have to continue at your business!
As our knowledge of COVID changes, there are actions that you can take to keep your place of work open and your employees safe.
If your employees have been asking themselves, “where can I find COVID testing near me”? The answer could be at your very own office building! Providing testing options and enhanced cleaning of your building can help stop the spread of this virus.
Keep reading to learn about how to keep your office COVID-free and open for business!
What Is COVID?
COVID is a highly contagious virus that can impact a person’s respiratory tract. Although many people can recover from this illness with mild symptoms, it can cause serious illness or death.
The world first encountered COVID-19 on December 1, 2019. Scientists think that this illness originated from SARS-CoV-2, which is part of the larger coronavirus family. The original virus may have started in an animal and mutated so that it could infect humans.
There are many symptoms of COVID that a person can display if they are positive for the disease. This is because every person’s unique body may react to the illness in different ways.
The most common symptoms a person with COVID will have are a cough, fever, and fatigue. These are not the only signs a person has caught this contagious virus. Having a sore throat, headache, body aches, and a loss of taste or smell are also symptoms that could show up.
One of the most serious symptoms a person can experience is those that impact the lungs. A person who has difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, or chest pain may have a grave case of COVID.
People with pre-existing health conditions can be more of a risk for needing medical attention from COVID. These can include ailments like cancer, diabetes, or respiratory issues. Elderly people can also be more at risk to get very sick from this illness.
Because COVID is so contagious, it is important to understand the steps you can put into place to keep your employees safe.
How a Virus Spreads
COVID is a contagious disease that can quickly spread from person to person. It can do this in several different ways.
Person-to-Person Spread
The COVID illness can spread when an infected person has contact with other people. Droplets from an infected person’s nose or mouth can spread through the air and if inhaled by others, could make them sick.
Another way that COVID can spread is through contaminated surfaces. Touching a contaminated surface and then touching your face could cause a COVID infection.
Large gatherings can spell trouble for people looking to avoid COVID. If a group of people gets together in a poorly ventilated area, an infected person can spread COVID to many people. This is especially common in indoor settings.
A person is a close contact if they have been in contact with someone who has COVID. This means they have to isolate themselves and watch for COVID symptoms for a set amount of time. This also may include testing after a certain number of days so that you can find out if you have the illness or not.
Community Spread
You may not always know where you picked up the COVID virus from. If you test positive for the COVID virus but don’t know where you got it, it means that there is community spread.
If a place has community spread, it means you may have a higher chance of contracting the virus if you visit the area. It is up to a state’s local health department to decide if community spread is happening or not.
An outbreak is when many people from one location become infected with COVID. Outbreaks cause businesses to shut down and can be detrimental to profits. To avoid having an outbreak, you should consider having your building professionally cleaned.
Individual Protection From COVID
There’s no question that COVID is a very contagious illness. That doesn’t mean there is nothing you can do to help slow the spread of the disease.
There are several precautions that both individuals and businesses can take to keep the spread of COVID minimal.
Masking
When a person is indoors, a mask can help slow the spread of COVID. A mask can help stop the infected droplets from entering another person’s mouth and nose. When wearing a mask, it is important to keep it securely over your nose and mouth.
There are several types of masks that you can wear. A fitted cloth mask made of several layers of fabric with a metal nose piece is one option. If you hold your cloth mask to the light and can’t see through it, it has enough fabric layers to help protect you from COVID.
Surgical masks are another mask type your employee could choose. These disposable masks should fit tightly to the face. They should also have several layers of material and a wire nose piece.
The masks with the highest level of protection are respirator masks such as N95s or KN95s. If you are looking for a mask that has the best fit, these are the masks for you. You will also get the most filtering when you wear a respirator mask.
Distancing
Keeping employees apart is one way to help slow the spread of COVID. The farther apart people are, the less chance that they can inhale infected droplets.
The CDC recommends keeping a distance of at least six feet between people to help slow the spread. Limiting close contact in communal or public areas can help keep your employees safe.
Businesses can keep employees distanced by putting stickers on the ground at six-foot intervals. This is especially helpful in places where people form lines or gather.
Limiting the number of people at tables can also help distance people. Removing chairs so that a small number of people can sit together is an easy way to distance your employees.
Hygiene
Proper hygiene can be one of the best defenses against the spread of COVID. Washing your hands is a practice you should do often. Washing with hot water and soap for a full twenty seconds will help rid your hands of germs.
Hand washing is especially important after you cough, sneeze, or blow your nose. You should also wash your hands after you are in any public area.
Sometimes soap and water aren’t readily available. In these cases, hand sanitizer is your best option. Look for hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol because it does the best job of killing germs.
COVID Testing Near Me
Testing for the COVID virus can help you know if you are contagious with the virus or not. There are many types of COVID tests you can take to test for the virus. If you develop symptoms of this disease, you should schedule either a PCR test or take an at-home antigen test.
Testing can also be a good option for anyone who needs to gather together indoors. People who are going to travel, attend a sporting event, or visit elderly relatives should take an antigen test beforehand. This can help catch contagious people before they have the chance to spread the virus.
Vaccines
Getting vaccinated is one of your best defenses against getting and passing COVID. For people five years old and older, there are several vaccines to choose from that will give you protection from this virus.
The United States has authorized the use of three different COVID vaccines. The mRNA vaccines Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna and the non-mRNA Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is a series of two shots that you get 28 days apart. This vaccine is for anyone aged five years old and older.
The Moderna vaccine is also a series of two shots that you get 28 days apart. People aged 18 years and older can get this vaccine.
The Johnson & Jonson vaccine is a single-dose shot. People who are 18 or older are eligible to get this vaccine.
People aged 12 and older may consider a booster shot for extra protection. You can get a booster shot five months after your mRNA vaccine or two months after your Johnson & Johnson shot.
The great news is that these vaccines are available in many places and are free to get. Although a vaccine is not a guarantee you won’t get COVID, it can help lessen your symptoms if you do catch this virus.
Awareness
Knowing the symptoms to look for if you are sick will help you identify when it’s time to schedule a COVID test.
If you feel sick, isolate yourself and schedule a COVID test. This will help you keep the virus contained. If you do test positive, make sure to let anyone you were around know so that they can also get tested.
The Importance of Cleaning and COVID Testing Near Me
COVID has caused many businesses to close, but your company doesn’t have to be one of them!
When it comes to keeping a COVID-free office, there are several practices you can put in place. Although the added cleaning and testing can feel burdensome, the benefits outweigh the extra efforts.
Productivity can decline when employees have to work from home. Employees who have to work from home may find it harder to stick to a schedule. Work-life balance can also be a hard thing to juggle if employees are working from home.
When you have enhanced cleaning and testing protocols, you can keep your office open. These extra precautions mean your business can remain operating as close as it can to normal during this pandemic.
COVID Testing Near Me
Having COVID testing options can keep your company safe and open for business. When it comes to testing, you have several options to choose from.
COVID Testing Near Me: PCR Tests
These are the most accurate of all the COVID testing choices. These tests look for RNA produced by the virus. If an employee has had known contact with a person who is positive for COVID, they should schedule a PCR test.
Because a lab analyzes these tests, it can take several days for results to come back. Because of their sensitivity, PCR tests can work if you have symptoms or not. These tests are very reliable and rarely have a false reading.
COVID Testing Near Me: Antigen Tests and
These are the fastest of COVID tests with results in fifteen minutes. These tests work by looking for proteins made by the COVID virus.
These tests do a good job of picking up symptomatic and active infections. If you take an antigen test too soon, it can have a false negative. This is usually because a viral load hasn’t built up enough for the test to detect.
COVID Testing Near Me: Antibody Tests
These are a great choice for a person who thinks they have already contracted COVID. A lab will also analyze these tests making their turn-around time several days.
There are two types of testing systems you can use in your business. Screening tests and diagnostic tests are both great tools that have different purposes.
Screening tests are tests that can catch asymptomatic cases of COVID. If you have unvaccinated employees, you may choose to have them take a weekly screening test. This will help make sure they aren’t carrying the COVID virus without knowing it.
Diagnostic tests can tell a symptomatic person if they have COVID or not. These are also helpful to give to people five days after known COVID exposure to see if they are positive.
Either testing option is a great way to help identify COVID infections among your employees.
Office Cleaning Products
A key part of keeping a COVID-free office is a thorough cleaning. Knowing the products to use and how to use them will help kill COVID on surfaces.
When it comes to choosing office cleaning products for COVID cleaning you want effective ones. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has done the work for you! The EPA keeps an updated list of all the disinfectants that they know kill the COVID virus.
For a chemical to kill the COVID virus, it will need to sit on a surface for a certain amount of time. This period, known as efficacy, is the time the chemical takes to break down the cell wall to kill the COVID virus. After the allotted efficacy, it is safe to wipe off the disinfecting chemical.
The disinfectants that can kill COVID are hospital grade. This means that you need to have a company that has the skill set to use these chemicals. Here at TC Services, we know how to use these hospital-grade disinfectants to keep your business safe.
Cleaning Application Types
When it is time to get cleaning, there are several different ways to apply the disinfectants.
For surface cleaning, wipes are a great choice. This type of cleaning application usually comes in a disposable form. Adding disinfectants to the wipes can help you get the deepest clean possible.
Using a spray is another cleaning application type. You can apply the spray to clean certain surfaces. To finish the clean, you wipe the spray down with a soft cloth.
Electrostatic sprayers are the gold standard of COVID cleaning. To use this type of cleaner, you load the disinfectant chemical of choice and spray directly on a surface. Although the cost for these sprayers can be intimidating, you will be getting the highest level of cleanliness.
Here at TC services, we use electrostatic sprayers for our COVID cleans. We always use a chemical that is on the EPA list guaranteed to kill the virus. Our after-hours cleans help keep the impact on your employees low.
Using a combination of cleaning applications will ensure all surfaces get cleaned.
Keeping Offices Clean
Keeping a large business clean in a pandemic is no small task. There are two different cleaning protocols to know about. There is routine cleaning and disinfectant cleaning.
Routine Cleaning 
If you have no known active COVID cases in your business, plan on cleaning your office once a day. There are several steps to follow to efficiently clean your office spaces.
Making a plan is the first thing to do before implementing your daily clean. Are there areas in your business that get touched often? If so, they are going to need extra cleaning attention.
You will have places in your business that are high-touch surfaces. These surfaces are anything that gets touched by many people during the day such as doorknobs and light switches. You will need to disinfect high-touch areas at least once a day to keep them clean.
Your building likely has many different types of surfaces in it. There are different cleaning techniques that you can use depending on the material of the surface that needs cleaning.
Make sure to use an EPA-approved chemical to clean soft surfaces like rugs and curtains. If you can put the item in the laundry, do so using the hottest setting the item can withstand. You can vacuum carpeted floors as normal.
When cleaning electronics, you will use a disinfectant that won’t harm the technology. Using a wipeable cover over electronics can help with cleaning. When you clean electronics, following manufacturing instructions will keep them safe from damage.
Outside spaces in your business have different rules than indoor locations. It is smart to disinfect high-touch areas like doorknobs or railings each day. You do not need to clean any outdoor wooden surfaces.
How to Disinfect Offices
If you have an employee who has tested positive for COVID, there is no need to panic! If a sick employee has been inside of your building, you need to follow a more rigorous cleaning protocol.
The first thing you will do if you have a sick employee is to keep other employees away from areas they have been. Waiting several hours before cleaning can help keep your cleaning team safe.
If there are windows in the places the sick employee was, keep them open to help increase air circulation. Using fans and opening doors also helps with the circulation of air.
Your immediate focus should be on any place the sick employee touched or visited. You should clean the surfaces in these areas with an EPA-approved COVID-killing disinfectant.
After an extensive clean of the area, vacuuming is the next step. During the vacuuming, turn off any HVAC systems that are specific to the room. This will help keep the contaminated air contained.
Keep Your Employees Safe With Cleaning and COVID Testing Near Me
Even though the pandemic is still raging, there are tools that you can use to keep a COVID-free office.
You can stop your employees from needing to search for “COVID testing near me” by offering testing at your company. Combining testing with a full disinfecting of your building will keep the spread low.
Hiring a professional janitorial company can keep your building disinfected and operational.
If your business is in the South Carolina area, TC Services can help with all your COVID cleaning and disinfecting needs! Whether it is a one-time clean or routine clean, we can help keep your building safe from COVID.
Contact us today for your free cleaning estimate and keep your business free from germs!
