Covid-19: Clean these 5 touch points in your building

Lift buttons, handles and iron gates of old collapsible lifts, staircase railings, all door handles and doors – these are the five main touch points that residents

Lift buttons, handles and iron gates of old collapsible lifts, staircase railings, all door handles and doors – these are the five main touch points that residents in containment zones in high-rises (apartments) should be aware of to control community transmission, according to the insecticide department of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). In case of containment zones in slums, the touch points are common toilets, stair handles or railings, parapets, sitting areas such as concrete platforms outside slum structures and door handles.

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Moreover, indoor areas of the patient’s home have to be sanitised rigorously before the 14-day isolation period and once the isolation is complete. According to the data released on Tuesday, there are 241 containment zones across all 24 municipal wards in the city. “Transmission is happening through these touch points and people are not aware of it. As on today, the focus is on cutting off the chain of transmission,” said Rajan Naringrekar, insecticide officer, BMC. “For this, not coming out of the house and ensuring touch points are sanitised daily is the key.”

Twenty-four pest control officers are working across all wards under the administrative control of ward officers. The insecticide department is carrying out daily sanitisation of all containment zones. They are using 200ml of sodium hypochlorite for 10 litres of water as a solution to spray the disinfectant using motorised mist spraying pumps. “Residents of these containment zones and apartments need not bother with the sodium hypochlorite solution, and can regularly sanitise these touch points using basic disinfectants or bleaching powder solutions easily available in markets. They need to wear gloves. Bleaching powder solution made in a bowl is best for cleaning parapets and sitting areas. If everybody follows this twice daily, the chances of transmission are reduced completely,” said Naringrekar.

Citizens on essential duty need to ensure the safety of their household and family members, said Naringrekar adding, they need to follow a daily process. “On reaching home, they need to first sanitise the cell phone, then their hands before entering the house. They need to immediately go to the wash basin. The foam on one’s hand (while using soap and water) needs to be used to wash the knob of the tap, which is an important touch point for households. Following this, a handkerchief dipped in disinfectant has to be used to wipe ones bag, belt, wallet, spectacles etc. followed by a shower. All clothes need to be dumped in a bucket filled with warm water and washed thereafter,” said Naringrekar.

Meanwhile, societies opting for private pest control operations were worried about the solution being used by these agencies. “While the BMC operations are for free, private pest control charges are almost ₹2,000 per day. In one of the canisters during sanitisation in our society, it was 100% water and no sodium hypochlorite solution at all,” said Sudhakar Trivedi, a Mulund resident.

“Pest control private bodies that are violating the insecticide department’s guidelines can lose their licence if they do not follow the exact steps identified for disinfection. If such violations are brought to our notice, we will immediately write to the state government,” said Naringrekar.