Site Safety

Cleaning with products containing soap or detergent reduces germs on surfaces by removing contaminants and decreases risk of infection from surfaces.

Disinfecting (using U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s List N disinfectants) kills any remaining germs on surfaces, which further reduces any risk of spreading infection.

When to Clean and When to Disinfect

Clean daily when there are no confirmed or suspected cases. Cleaning once a day is usually enough to sufficiently remove viruses that may be on surfaces and help maintain a healthy facility.

Disinfect when there is a confirmed case. If there has been a sick person or someone who tested positive for COVID-19 in your facility within the last 24 hours, you should clean AND disinfect the space occupied by that person during that time. 

Increasing the cleaning frequency. You may want to either clean more frequently or choose to disinfect (in addition to cleaning) in shared spaces if the space is a high traffic area or if certain conditions apply that can increase the risk of infection from touching surfaces, such as:

• High transmission of COVID-19 in your community;
• Low vaccination rates in your community;
• Infrequent use of other prevention measures, such as mask wearing (among unvaccinated people) and hand hygiene; or
• The space is occupied by people at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19

For more information on cleaning a facility regularly, when to clean more frequently or disinfect, cleaning a facility when someone is sick, safe storage of cleaning and disinfecting products, and considerations for protecting workers who clean facilities, see the CDC’s Cleaning and Disinfecting Your Facility.

RESOURCES

• CDC’s Cleaning and Disinfecting Your Facility 
• The EPA’s approved list “N” (Disinfectants for Coronavirus)

Recent evidence indicates that in-person instruction can occur safely without minimum physical distancing requirements when other mitigation strategies (e.g., masking) are implemented. This is consistent with CDC K-12 School Guidance.

Other Space Considerations

• Reopening Buildings After Prolonged Shutdown: After a long time of inactivity, buildings may require additional attention. Take steps to ensure that all water systems and features (for example, drinking fountains and decorative fountains) are safe to use after a prolonged facility shutdown to minimize the risk of Legionnaires’ disease and other diseases associated with water. The CDC offers guidance for reopening buildings after prolonged shutdown. 

• Identify and Set Up an Isolation Area: Work with school administrators, nurses, and other healthcare providers to identify an isolation room or area to separate anyone who exhibits symptoms of COVID-19. 

• Limiting Access to Schools: Schools should limit nonessential visitors, volunteers, and activities involving external groups or organizations with people who are not fully vaccinated, particularly in areas where there is moderate-to-high COVID-19 community transmission.

• Ensure Access for Service Providers: Schools should not limit access for direct service providers, but can ensure compliance with school visitor policies.

• Post Helpful Signage: Consider posting signage at each public entrance of each site to inform all students, staff and visitors that they should: 
  • Avoid entering or using the facility if they have COVID-19 symptoms; and
  • Wear face coverings, as appropriate.

RESOURCES

• CDC Guidance for Reopening Buildings After Prolonged Shutdown

For indoor spaces, ventilation should be optimized, which can be done by following CDPH Guidance on Ventilation of Indoor Environments and Ventilation and Filtration to Reduce Long-Range Airborne Transmission of COVID-19 and Other Respiratory Infections: Considerations for Reopened Schools.

RESOURCES

• CDPH: Guidance on Ventilation of Indoor Environments and Ventilation and Filtration to Reduce Long-Range Airborne Transmission of COVID-19 and Other Respiratory Infections: Considerations for Reopened Schools.

LEAs will want to plan on finding ways to maximize physical distance as much as possible while eating (especially indoors).

• Outdoors and Classrooms: Using additional spaces outside of the cafeteria for mealtime seating such as classrooms or the gymnasium can help facilitate distancing. Arrange for eating outdoors as much as feasible. 

• Clean frequently touched surfaces. Surfaces that come in contact with food should be washed, rinsed, and sanitized before and after meals.

• No Need to Limit Services to Individually Plated or Bagged Meals: Given very low risk of transmission from surfaces and shared objects, there is no need to limit food service approaches to single use items and packaged meals.

• Contactless Systems: Consider using contactless systems, such as touchless point-of-sale systems and e-payments, to reduce direct contact with common surfaces and currency.

RESOURCES

• CDPH’s COVID-19 Public Health Guidance for K-12 Schools in California, 2021-22 School Year