How Facility Managers Should Prepare For Cold and Flu Season

After COVID, preparing for cold and flu season may seem almost quaint by comparison. Don't be fooled, however -- influenza is still potentially deadly, and colds are highly transmissible. The common cold alone is estimated to cost the US economy roughly $40 billion every year, and that doesn't even account for the danger and additional costs faced by people who are immunocompromised, elderly, or who have underlying health conditions that place them at risk of serious illness. As a facility manager, you want to keep your employees, tenants, and guests healthy. Here's how you can prep for cold and flu season:

1. Encourage your employees to get vaccinated.

There's no vaccine for the common cold, but there's one for influenza. A flu shot is the best way to make sure that your workers stay healthy. Even when the flu shot doesn't prevent the flu, it can still keep it from becoming a serious illness. You may even want to contract with a healthcare facility to have a "flu vaccine" day at your facility. That way, you can ensure that all of your employees that are able to receive a vaccine do so.

2. Create signage.

Even without a vaccine, there are some behaviors that can help curb the spread of respiratory viruses. You may want to make signs reminding employees, tenants, or guests to:

• Always cover sneezes with a tissue.
• Cover coughs by coughing into their elbows, not their hands.
• Wash hands frequently.
• Wash every part of their hands, including the palms, nails, and between their fingers. Lather for at least 20 seconds.
• Avoid touching their (or anyone else's) faces.

3. Set up sanitizer and masking stations.

All of the proper handwashing instructions in the world won't help if there's no soap and water available. That's why it's important to have hand sanitizer stations set up as a backup. Fill them with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, preferably in a touch-free container equipped with a motion sensor. You may also wish to include disinfectant wipes and disposable masks. In other countries, it's common courtesy to wear a mask when you have a cold. They help by blocking the respiratory droplets that get coughed, sneezed, or even simply breathed out.

4. Sanitize common areas regularly.

Lobbies, break rooms, restrooms, and office areas should all be disinfected periodically throughout the day. Prioritize high-traffic areas, since these are more likely to accumulate germs. Set up a plan to sanitize these areas in a way that's as thorough, often, and non-disruptive as possible. Make sure you have disinfectants that are effective against cold, flu, and COVID-19, so you can cover the whole gamut of respiratory viruses.

5. Teach employees to spot colds and flu.

Make sure your workers know the flu when they have it. The flu shows up abruptly, and often comes with:

• Fever and chills.
• Body aches.
• Fatigue.
• Coughing.
• Sore throat.
• Headaches.
• Congestion.
• Sometimes sneezing.
  
  

On the other hand, colds are generally more gradual and cause:

• Sneezing.
• Coughing.
• Stuffy nose.
• Sore throat.
  
  

Fevers, chills, and body aches are uncommon with colds. Remember, no matter whether your employees have colds or the flu, the best place for them is at home. Resting and drinking lots of fluids can help them recover and keep them from getting guests, tenants, or other employees sick. Encourage your workers to stay home when they are ill.

6. Revisit social distancing.

If you haven't kept up your social distancing protocols, now might be a good time to go back to them. While social distancing isn't perfect, keeping a bit of distance and barriers between people can curb the spread of respiratory viruses. You might want to create a one-directional traffic flow down corridors or mark socially distant spaces on the floor where people stand in line. Whatever your social distancing policies were at the height of COVID, consider re-implementing them. The number of influenza infections dropped sharply during COVID, which shows that the same measures that prevent COVID can prevent the flu.

7. Improve your air quality.

Chances are your facility invested in high-quality air purifiers and efficient HVAC filters when COVID was at its peak. If not, or if you've reduced your air filtration since then, now is a good time to step it up again. Air purifiers equipped with HEPA filters help by trapping particles that contain viruses, reducing the number of viruses in the air. With more people seeking to return back to "normal" post-COVID, we're likely to see cold and flu numbers on the rise. If you're still diligently protecting your facility against COVID, you likely don't have much to worry about -- the same measures that thwart coronavirus also work for rhinovirus and influenza. If not, it's a good idea to follow these tips to make sure your tenants, guests, and employees stay as healthy as possible this cold and flu season.

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