Beauty industry, Blog, Care homes, Food preparation, General news, Medical and healthcare, Motor vehicles, Schools and nurseries
UKHSA norovirus update – “wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water”
Dec
Warning reveals that sanitisers just don’t work in the face of rapid illness spread
Norovirus – the so-called “winter vomiting bug” – is spreading rapidly across England, according to many reports around the country, including entries on the BBC (Hospitals ban visitors after norovirus outbreaks), Mirror (Violent diarrhoea bug symptoms to watch for as illness surges in UK) and Express (‘Very unpleasant’ norovirus infections jump by more than 30% – what to do if you catch it) websites.
This makes handwashing really important whether you’re in a medical facility, workplace, catering establishment, on the move in a motor vehicle, working or resident in a care home, running a beauty outlet or even a preschool or nursery.
In the face of this apparent onslaught, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has published an article called Why is norovirus reporting in England so high at the moment?
It reveals that there has been a sharp rise in laboratory confirmed norovirus cases, and that the main culprit seems to be the norovirus strain GII.17, which is apparently sometimes incorrectly referred to as the ‘Kawasaki virus’.
Preventing the spread of the GII.17 variant
The advice from UKHSA is unequivocal. You should stay home for at least two days after symptoms disappear and, perhaps most importantly of all, be proactive with good hand hygiene. There are no shortcuts in the form of gels they say.
“To reduce the spread of norovirus, wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water, as alcohol-based hand sanitisers are not effective against the virus.”
The article also links to the UKHSA’s full guidance How to stop norovirus spreading, which states that it is important to “wash your hands thoroughly using soap and warm water after using the toilet or contact with a sick individual and before preparing and eating food.”
It also reiterates the importance of good old-fashioned soap and water based hygiene, saying do “not rely on alcohol gels instead of washing your hands, as these do not kill the virus”.
Why is norovirus reporting in England so high at the moment? »
Effective mobile hand washing for everyone – wherever they are
Teal produces a comprehensive range of mobile and washing units for every type of hand washing situation for use by anyone who needs to wash their hands effectively, whether they’re in hospital or medical facility, care home, an office environment, temporary accommodation or out in the field on a daily basis.
Mobile hand wash stations can also be hired »
There are vehicle mounted, wall mounted, mains powered and free standing hand wash stations as well as mobile sinks for use with pre-heated hot water.
The Teal range of mobile sinks includes the MediWash, Hygienius and Hygienius ProWash, BigSynk, Super Stallette, TEALwash, Handeman Xtra, Compact Classic, HandSpa, CliniWash – and now the new WashStand Xtra.