POSTED ON May 05, 2020

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) released guidance for cleaning and disinfecting public spaces, workplaces, businesses, schools and homes. Each entity should consider the CDC’s guidance in preparation for re-opening business in California and across the country, which is summarized as follows:

  • Evaluate the workplace to determine what kinds of surfaces and materials are present;
  • Determine which surfaces can be cleaned with soap and water and/or normal routine cleaning;
  • Determine which surfaces also need to be disinfected;
  • Determine whether soft and porous materials should be cleaned/disinfected or temporarily removed;
  • Consider the availability of cleaning and disinfecting products, as well as appropriate PPE;
  • Clean visibly dirty surfaces with soap and water;
  • Use appropriate cleaning or disinfecting products and instructions;
  • Maintain and revise your plan;
  • Maintain safe behavioral practices, and;
  • Consider practices that reduce the potential for exposure.

The CDC’s guidance is based on the framework that:

  1. Normal routine cleaning with soap and water will decrease the extent of COVID on surfaces and objects, and
  2. Disinfection using EPA-approved disinfectants against COVID can also reduce risk, especially for surfaces and objects touched by multiple people, where frequent disinfection is necessary.

If EPA-approved disinfectants are not available, alternate disinfectants can be used (e.g., 1/3 cup of bleach added to 1 gallon of water or 70-percent alcohol solutions).

The CDC’s guidance also made special note of the additional risks for an entity’s custodial staff or other people who are carrying out the cleaning and disinfecting procedures and references additional information per the OSHA website.

For further information regarding the CDC’s back-to-work guidance, see: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/reopen-guidance.html


Please reach out to GHJ’s COVID-19 Response Team if you have any questions as the firm has an experienced team of consultants specializing in cash-flow projections, strategy and operations consulting and re-organizations. We are here to assist organizations to succeed in these very challenging times.