Scientists are setting out on a roadmap that can help critical sectors of the economy operate safely, from meat-packing plants to financial services, despite the continuing spread of the pandemic.
After almost a year of study, the lessons include: wearing a mask, workers’ pods and good airflow are much more important than cleaning the surface, checking the temperature and plexiglass barriers in places like offices and restaurants. Even more public health experts now support the widespread use of fast and cheap tests to quickly detect cases, in part because many scientists believe that more than 50% of infections are transmitted by asymptomatic people.
The playing card comes after months of investigations into how the coronavirus spreads and affects the body. Scientists have combined this with the knowledge gained from years of experience in managing occupational health hazards in high-risk workplaces, such as factories and chemical plants, where small air pollutants can accumulate and cause damage. It is said that different types of jobs – taking into account the types of interactions that workers have – need slightly different protocols.
Safety measures have taken on a new urgency in recent weeks as new infections, hospitalizations and deaths increase in the US and Europe, and potentially more transmissible variants of the virus are spreading around the globe. This phase of the pandemic causes a new wave of orders, closures and travel restrictions at home, the first important steps to reduce the contagion. Infection prevention experts say that known strategies for spreading the spread should continue to work against new variants, but that increased adherence is even more important.
Vaccines are taking place, but slowly, and access will be limited especially to high-priority groups for some time.