Workplace hygiene

Make it easy for employees, visitors, customers, pupils, students etc. to keep their hands clean using washing facilities and/or hand sanitisers.
At locations where a lot of people meet or move around in or where there are many common contact points, there must be easy access to hand sanitisers e.g. in public institutions, at entrances, at workplaces, at associations, at places where items are served, at sports facilities, etc.
Ensure that hand sanitiser containers are kept filled during the day and ensure that hand sanitiser is available at entrances and at common contact points, e.g. in bus terminals, at ticket vending machines, coffee vending machines, fridges, etc.
In locations with public access or where a lot of people have access, e.g. at workplaces, there must be easy access to hand washing facilities with water and liquid soap and disposable hand towels. There should not be shared hand towels or shared bars of soap.
Hand sanitiser cannot replace ordinary washing of hands and will be less effective if you have not washed your hands first. Therefore, you must for example, always use water and soap if you have visible dirt on your hands. Using a hand sanitiser can be a good supplement to washing hands, since they have good disinfectant properties. In addition, it can be a good idea to use hand sanitiser if you are unable to wash your hands with soap and water.

Common contact points are surfaces that are touched by a lot of people. For example, handles, handrails, switches, pushbuttons, keyboards, armrests, the edges of tables, toys, tools, taps, toilets, etc. When a lot of people touch the same thing, the risk of infection spreading by contact increases. Frequent cleaning of common contact points is therefore especially important.

Cleaning with soap and water can loosen and remove dirt and microorganisms from surfaces and thus reduce the risk of infection spreading by contact. Ordinary cleaning using soap and water will be sufficient in most cases but can be supplemented with disinfection afterwards on the basis of a specific assessment and as a precautionary principle.

Items that are not suitable to get very wet, e.g. electronics items, can instead be disinfected. In addition, there may be materials that can be cleaned using other means, e.g. using a UV lamp, gas or steam. However, this always requires prior cleaning and that there are more stringent measures for being in a room where disinfection takes place and the personnel must have special training in being able to handle the equipment.

The frequency of cleaning should be adjusted to suit the activity, so that frequent and repeated cleaning of contact points is ensured in rooms, areas and situations with many visitors and/or where there is a lot of touching. For example, in day care institutions, schools, shops, places where items are served, public transport, gyms, commercial enterprises, etc.

The frequency of cleaning should be adapted to the season, so that more frequent cleaning is ensured during the autumn and winter season. More frequent cleaning also applies to clothing which can be contaminated with the coronavirus, even though clothing is assessed as being limited in relation to the spread of infection. In addition, there are no signs that the coronavirus is spread through food.

Methods for preventing the spread of infection from contact points:

Identification and marking of common contact points, e.g. door handles and pushbuttons.
Remove unnecessary contact points (e.g. customer satisfaction stations with pushbuttons, signs that separate items from payment terminals etc.) and use wireless systems (e.g. sensor activated lighting, hand-free taps, automatic or elbow-operated door opening, wireless payment terminals, etc.).
Regular and thorough cleaning of common contact points, which are cleaned at least once a day or more often when there are many visitors.
Ensure food is served in portions or use personal utensils or disposable aids at, e.g. buffet serving tables and where people eat together.
Shared utensils and paraphernalia should be cleaned between use by different users, or personal utensils or disposable equipment can be used.
Avoid sharing equipment that is difficult to clean between users, e.g. telephones, tablets, etc.
Empty wastebins on a daily basis and always before they are full.
In the case of washing of clothing, instructions should be followed but in homes where there is confirmed cases of coronavirus, towels, bed linen and underwear should be washed at min. 60 °C. Consider more frequent washing of textiles that are more exposed to droplets and secretions from the nose, e.g. scarves and gloves.

Ventilation and airing out can minimise the risk of the spread of infection by the coronavirus when you stay indoors. Replacing the air can be done via the ventilation system or by airing out the room by opening windows and doors.

The coronavirus infects other people through contact and through small droplets that contain the virus, which are transferred from person to person – by sneezing, coughing, talking or similar. When a person e.g. coughs or sneezes, most of the droplets will fall to the ground but some of the smallest droplets, called microdrops, remain in the air for longer and this increases the risk of the spread of infection.

If the air is not properly ventilated or aired out, the risk of infection spreading via the air increases, because the density of droplets increases. Changing the air lowers the concentration of microdrops in the air and therefore ventilation and the flow of air are important ways to prevent the spread of infection.

How to air out a room:

Open the windows and doors throughout the home, so that there are airflows through the home.
Leave windows and doors open for 5–10 minutes. 4-5 times daily.
If there are several people inside, air out more often, e.g. before and after visitors.
If there is more than one person in a room for a longer period of time, create airflow through the room once an hour.

Airing out is important but does not replace the advice on the prevention of the spread of the infection.