The New Normal: Higher Hygiene Expectations Will Be One Of The Pandemic’s Legacies

A man using Pelsis' Hurricane Fogger to disinfect an area Dr. Bill Robinson, technical director at hygiene and pest control specialist Pelsis Group, explains why a greater focus on the hygiene of premises will outlast the Covid‑19 pandemic.

It’s difficult to understate the impact the Covid‑19 pandemic has had across the globe since the virus first emerged in late 2019. Life as we knew it has been transformed. Drastic measures, such as national lockdowns and stay‑at‑home orders, have been a way of life for large parts of the past year. As we’ve battled to understand the dangers Covid‑19 poses, a huge emphasis has been put on the hygiene and safety of the places we visit.

Facilities managers operating across a range of settings, from hospitality and healthcare to commercial offices and transport, have gone to great lengths to reduce the threat of Covid‑19 on their premises. Social distancing and other measures have been commonplace. In many facilities, enhanced hygiene regimes including the use of electrostatic foggers have been implemented to minimise the risk of surface contamination. These measures have been instrumental in allowing many essential services to remain open during the past year.

After a challenging twelve months the UK’s vaccination programme is well underway and the country is preparing to open up. The relaxation of lockdown measures offers an opportunity for many of us to return to our places of work, to shopping centres and to restaurants and theatres. As more people travel to meet friends and family, usage of public transport will also increase. All this is welcome news as the UK looks to forge a post‑pandemic economic recovery – but questions remain about what the future will look like.

What’s New About Normal?

The sheer gravity of the Covid‑19 pandemic means that we’ll be returning to a new normal as lockdown measures ease. One of the key aspects of this new normal is that the public will be acutely aware of the hygiene of the places they visit. Hygiene has become a key concern for facilities managers and the wider public during the course of the pandemic. Independent research conducted by Pelsis Group found that 87 per cent of people surveyed think the hygiene of the places they visit is more important to them now than it was before the pandemic.

While that survey finding is not unexpected, our research also suggests that a focus on hygiene is set to outlast the pandemic. Only seven per cent of people across the UK say the hygiene of the premises they visit will become less important to them after the pandemic. This finding suggests that a focus on hygiene is likely to be a long‑term trend – one of the legacies of the Covid‑19 pandemic that facilities managers need to plan for.

With hygiene set to remain at the forefront of the public consciousness, facilities managers will need to ensure that they can continue to demonstrate adherence to robust hygiene regimes in the long term. The public will continue to seek reassurance that premises are hygienic before visiting. In fact, more than two thirds of people say being able to check the hygiene protocols of premises online – and see stringent cleaning procedures taking place – would make them more likely to visit. As we enter the new normal and the prevalence of Covid‑19 recedes, facilities managers will need to demonstrate not only that their premises are Covid‑19 secure but rather that they are hygiene secure. This will become a standard consideration alongside more traditional concerns around the physical security of premises.

Looking back across the past 12 months, facilities managers have done a fantastic job in difficult circumstances to make their premises as safe as possible. Now, with increased public scrutiny of hygiene set to be a long‑term trend, the steps facilities managers have already taken mean they are ideally positioned to adjust to a new normal. One in which the concept of hygiene security will be central.

The New Normal: Higher Hygiene Expectations Will Be One Of The Pandemic’s Legacies