Remediation, decontamination, and proper monitoring are the best defense tools.
While the Coronavirus (COVID-19) is believed to have originated in Wuhan, China, it continues to quickly spread throughout the globe at an alarming rate. Medical experts and health officials remain baffled by the effects and contagion of this novel virus. However, as a result of this fast-spreading virus, on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) named COVID-19 a pandemic, a powerful term leading to significant repercussions on both precious healthcare resources and the global economy, alike.
On March 13, 2020, President Trump officially declared COVID-19 a national emergency, prompting urgent responses and growing concern to what is now an exponentially growing virus.
Political and medical authorities in the United States tend to agree that due to the hastening acceleration of confirmed cases of COVID-19, the immediate and complete containment of the virus is unfortunately not foreseeable at this point. Drastic measures, such as quarantines, curfews, and closures, are being both voluntarily undertaken as well as being imposed by governmental authorities in an effort to slow the number of additional cases and hopefully protect the population from the otherwise impending rampant spread of this virus.
The risk of infection of Coronavirus is immense. In order to minimize the risks of contamination, proper hygiene, sanitization, and remediation measures are not simply encouraged: they are compulsory. During this pandemic, not only does society-at-large have a duty to do what it takes to minimize exposure, but business and organizations have an absolute responsibility to take all necessary steps in order to lower the risk of transmission, safely maintain their facilities to help ensure a consistently sterile condition, keep people safe while working in or visiting these environments (if even still allowed), and hopefully limit as much exposure to liability, as possible.
Thankfully, there is a nationwide entity with over three decades of experience in assisting its clients in the planning and remediation of ongoing issues during these vast outbreaks; namely, Strategic Response Partners (SRP). SRP is a company that staffs and works closely with the world’s leading certified environmental consultants to assist businesses and organizations throughout the United States with both their planning and strategic response to this ever-evolving pandemic. During this outbreak of COVID-19, SRP has the full capability to efficiently and effectively respond to organizations with the appropriate leadership, teams, and environmental experts necessary to immediately institute necessary safety and containment protocols, as well as oversee and manage the entire remediation process. SRP’s certified remediation crews are crucial to helping a business ensure a successful continuation and/or resuming of their necessary business activities.
Considering the rapid spread of this powerful and potentially fatal virus, businesses and organizations have no choice but to make challenging decisions that will impact both immediate and long-term business operations, staff, finances, ongoing activities, and potential interruptions. However, SRP and its team of industry-leading experts have been assisting organizations, whether large or small with their emergency and pandemic planning for over the last 20 years. SRP is, by far, the best equipped to help assist you and your business in the recovery process under these considerations. SRP’s professionals consistently train and prepare for emergencies and disasters such as these on a worldwide basis and have the requisite experience and know-how to assist with the preparation, cleaning, and/or remediation of very large facilities. It’s during critical times such as these that everyone has a critical part to play in preventing any further spread and to help #flattenthecurve.
A. The Challenges of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Considering that COVID-19 is unique and completely new to scientists, experts are presently unsure how exactly to classify this phenomenon. Doctors and scientists alike on the front lines are doing whatever they can as quickly as they can to compare and share unique strategies and treatment plans in hopes of simply slowing this outbreak. Some have compared it to the common flu, while various medical experts have cautioned against this comparison.
Unlike any prior disease experienced by humans – the destruction and pervasiveness of the Coronavirus is not yet fully understood. To date, this powerful and highly contagious virus cannot be contained in the same way as influenza. What we are learning at a rapid pace is that its consequences could prove to be substantially more severe and potentially more fatal than may have been originally thought.
As reality is setting in upon society that complete containment of this virus, as once originally hoped and thought, now appears unrealistic and futile, immediate testing and proper identification are now even more important according to the leading United States health officials. Unfortunately, despite the United States Center for Disease Control (CDC) recently stating before Congress that all Americans are entitled to tests regardless of their insurance status, the applicable and available resources are presently scarce, as testing materials are not available for all those who wish to obtain an accurate reading of their symptoms. Plainly stated, there is currently a shortage of tests to detect COVID-19 in the United States. Additionally, and even more concerting about COVID-19, doctors have confirmed that some carriers of the virus may not present any symptoms. Due to the shortage of available testing kits, medical professionals have been forced into the circumstances of prioritizing the allocation of such testing kits only to those individuals actually presenting symptoms.
This lack of testing means that many carriers of the virus, who are asymptomatic, will never receive proper testing and will carry with them the significant risk of unknowingly infecting others. As a result, individuals with little to no symptoms, despite potentially still being a carrier of the virus, will likely not be able to undergo the requisite testing. The present extent of this current pandemic is therefore impossible to track or confirm with certainty.
Exemplifying the severity of this virus, faced with an influx of Coronavirus cases, there was no choice but for Italy to adopt immediate mandates to quarantine their entire country. The spread had gotten too severe too quick, resulting in an exponentially growing number of cases, all which left Italy’s population devastated and afraid. Now, officials and citizens alike within the country are imploring others to heed their warning and act quickly to avoid the spread of the virus and the potential for fatality it can bring. Thankfully, other various governments are starting to heed to these warnings and are beginning to follow suit, fearing the replication of the situation in Italy, or even worse, the exacerbation of the present in their own jurisdiction.
As COVID-19 spreads like wildfire, the economy and world markets appear to be negatively following suit. Pursuant to the stock market’s recent decline, interest rates have been cut by the Fed. The price of crude oil has drastically decreased and left the world wondering if we are heading into another recession, or even into a depression. The fight against COVID-19 requires extensive processes, procedures, and efforts from political, medical, communal, and societal organizations. Each of our leaders must use all available resources to counter the virus, including developing proper vaccines, distributing sufficient tests, working with healthcare professionals, and implementing obligatory measures, such as social distancing or mandatory quarantine orders.
B. Strategic Response Partners’ Role
While governments and health officials alike are engaging in heightened efforts to suppress and cease the further transmission of the Coronavirus as best as possible, businesses must also be vigilant and engage in all available efforts to ensure all of their facilities are decontaminated and free of any traces of The Coronavirus. SRP can quickly and effectively help you and your business accomplish this task. Since 1989, the leaders at SRP have successfully responded to various similar outbreaks such as the SARS, H1N1 and MERS outbreaks.
Businesses throughout the country can take some assurance in knowing that there is someone on their side that can help them navigate the tides of this ever-evolving pandemic, as SRP’s disaster management consultants have significant experience in preparing for disasters and providing the most comprehensive and effective responses. SRP’s vast experience allows you to benefit from their valuable insight and industry-recognized processes to help you counteract some of the potentially devastating effects of the current pandemic, and essentially, help you steer your ship out of brutal waters.
1. Experience, Expertise and Certified Environmental Consultants
Benefitting from decades of experience, Strategic Response Partners works with the best environmental consultants, all of whom are fully certified by HAZWOPER (Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response).
To date, SRP has been and continues to be instrumental in using its Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) certified professionals to engage in disinfecting medical facilities, schools, shopping centers, warehouses and high-rise buildings during this as well as previous outbreaks. Drawing on its vast experience and certified team of environmental consultants, SRP has successfully decontaminated, sanitized, and remediated infected areas, rendering them safe for re-occupancy. Upon retention, SRP typically deploys a site manager as well as an OSHA Safety Director to ensure the safe and effective delivery of Coronavirus decontamination. Such individuals are responsible for all aspects of Coronavirus infection control including supply monitoring and evaluation with direct observation of procedures before, during, and after any of your staff enter a decontamination area. At least one of SRP’s certified project managers remains on-site in the location where the Coronavirus decontamination is being performed to identify critical decontamination functions and deploy essential decontamination procedures that protect technicians from Coronavirus and ensures a decontaminated area for entry thereafter by your staff and the general public alike.
2. Proper Hygiene and Sanitization Practices
While data evidences that COVID-19 can be spread through person-to-person contact or by touching infected surfaces, it is important to note that according to some studies, the virus can also live on surfaces for three (3) days or more. As a result, proper hygiene and cleanliness are no longer an added value, but an absolute necessity during these difficult times. All must enhance their sanitization and decontamination protocols by using proven remediation methods. Thus, it is of the utmost importance for a business to retain an outfit which has all necessary certifications, is properly trained, and has their HAZWOPER certifications all in a diligent effort to limit injuries or prevent a situation of cross-contamination that may further spread the virus within a workplace.
SRP has world-renowned experience and training to ensure that all decontamination processes and procedures strictly comply with the protocols set forth by the CDC, the WHO, and the Department of Health. SRP uses CDC-approved cleaning agents to effectively sanitize all aspects of a business, including the floors, counters, desks, keyboards, walls, and all other surfaces employees or tenants may come into contact with. Using technologically advanced sanitizing tools such as electrostatic sprays and micro-mist technology, SRP decontaminates areas that are difficult to reach with traditional cleaning methods. The innovative technology quickly and evenly coats a surface with a CDC-approved disinfectant, making it easier to sanitize large public areas. Considering the urgent nature of the Coronavirus, experts need to be present to handle setting the proper protocols and monitor the decontamination and remediation process, using the highest level of safety, infectious disease remediation, and waste disposal management.
3. Testing, Outline Proper Remediation Protocol and Monitoring the Entire Process
The disinfection of an area believed to be impacted by the novel Coronavirus begins by acting in accordance with the CDC’s key practices. As such, SRP’s first step is generally the isolation of a potentially contaminated area.
Regardless of whether there has been a confirmed case that exists upon your property, SRP will provide a highly trained specialized team that can perform all requisite services. SRP’s remediation crews each abide by the strictest sanitization and decontamination protocols, including but not limited to those set forth by the CDC. Onsite, SRP’s environmental consultants all wear the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) to inspect, test, and perform all facets of remediation. SRP’s PPE includes respirators and protective equipment, allowing SRP’s consultants to enter contaminated areas and perform remediation measures without risk of exposure. Based on decades of experience and training, SRP’s crews excel time and time again in the proper handling of PPEs.
When it comes to choosing the appropriate company that can best perform on you and your businesses’ behalf during “crunch time,” SRP is your go-to provider, as its environmental consultants are tier-1 approved and fully certified to remove any potential on-site biowaste.
4. Hospital Clean Room Condition Certificates
Thorough testing is performed to validate that the areas are safe and decontaminated, SRP’s environmental consultants will oversee the decontamination process to help ensure that your facilities are brought to a certified hospital-grade clean room condition, thereby exceeding all industry standards.
SRP is the world-recognized expert when it comes to bringing facilities to a hospital-grade clean room condition, allowing independent third-party environmental consultants to provide any necessary clearance certificates that certain areas are safe to re-occupy without traces of the virus.
5. Mandated Business Closures May Cause Insurance Companies to Attempt to Shortchange Insurance Claims
Amidst all of the present chaos, it appears that insurance claims will be the favored method most business owners will choose to protect themselves from the various impending risks imposed from this recent Pandemic. While you’re strongly advised to review your own policy to know the specifics of your own contract, typically, most insurance policies contain clauses that protect businesses and people in the event of a disaster which results in governmental intervention. Specifically, most insurance policies cover their insured on an “all risk” basis. This means all risks of loss and damage are covered unless explicitly, expressly, and unambiguously excluded within your policy or an attached rider.
Thus, loss and/or damage incurred to decontaminate and protect your premises, as well as resulting losses from interruption of business due to government mandated closures and the viral pandemic may be covered under the terms of your policy.
Reviewing your insurance policy with a fine-toothed comb is a necessity at this time to determine if coverage exists under the terms of your specific policy. It is important to note that some policies will cover damage caused by the viral pandemic, whether in whole or in part, and some will not. However, some insurance companies through their brokers will attempt to shade themselves behind the shroud of obscure contract interpretation in a bad faith effort to exclude business interruption claims. Regardless, you and/or your team should know the ins and outs of your present insurance policy to know whether you should or should not be covered under these present circumstances, and if so, to what extent.
Additionally, all businesses should be actively engaged in following all present efforts by both the federal and state governments to provide emergency protection for businesses. For example, legislation appears to be presently in the works which may negate the effect of any exclusionary language within insurance policies. In the wake of recent events, New Jersey, amongst other states and the federal government are discussing the immediate enactment of emergency legislation to force insurers to pay for both COVID-19 remediation as well as business interruption insurance claims, all in an attempt to counter any potential exclusions contained in Insurance Services Office (ISO) Form CP 01 40 07 06. Namely, ISO CP 01 40 07 06 states, in pertinent part, that claims addressed under this clause will be not be covered in the event of a virus or bacteria capable of inducing physical distress, illness, or disease.
On this basis, the best thing you could be armed with at this point in time is information. So again, review your policy, know the contents, and remain vigilant about following federal and your state’s legislative activity to determine whether certain protections are being enacted that could help assist you, your business, your staff, and all of your business assets make it through these trying times while succumbing to as little harm as possible.
6. Experts in the Field of Hazard Remediation and Decontamination
SRP’s consultants specialize in overseeing hazard remediation and decontaminating areas which may be impacted by the Coronavirus. Accordingly, SRP’s team of experts is comprised of some of the best first responders in the nation. Whether epidemiologists, paramedics, environmental consultants, or engineers in the field of disaster response, SRP is your country-wide, go-to source, able to provide all necessary services, without restriction, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, regardless of your circumstances. In a time of need, it’s good to know that you have someone you can consistently depend upon.
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***************************************************Strategic Response Partners is a rapid response team of industry-leading experts specializing in disaster preparedness, and responses. Since 1989, SRP has been dedicated to helping organizations respond to rapidly changing situations such as the current COVID-19 pandemic. Along with our strategic partners, we effectively respond with pandemic planning response testing and remediation clearance. Please visit our website (www.srp24.com) and our YouTube channel (Strategic Response Partners) for more information. We invite you to watch our latest YouTube video entitled “SRP Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Response Planning, Testing and Remediation” to learn more about all of the services we offer. Please contact us to discuss how we can help your organization prepare for or respond to the pandemic, as well as implement actual testing and remediation responses. You can reach us by phone at 888 582-5848, or using the Contact form on our website. We are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We look forward to serving you.x
