With the winter holidays upon us, increasing travel, shopping, and festive outings, health experts are concerned that as more people congregate in close contact, the cases of COVID-19, along with seasonal cold and flu will rise.

At NQ inc., we understand the importance of holiday traditions. We also understand the impact the shutdown had on many businesses and how foot traffic in physical stores dropped steeply as more customers stayed home. So, to help businesses comfortably welcome clients to partake in the festive season with peace of mind, here’s a few tips we compiled.

Set and Communicate Safety Standards

Ensuring that your business stays up to date with the current safety standards and reminding your customers about the proposed safety measures, whether it’s to keep social distance, wash their hands, or wear their masks, shows how much you care. You can check the CDC website, as well as your state government website for the most recent facts and updates.

Having custom COVID-19 signage up in your establishment is a great way to respond to your communications with your customers flowing effectively.

Require Employees to Wear Masks

More than half of U.S. adults (57%) believe masks should be mandated for employees working at on-site locations, even if they have been vaccinated against Covid-19, according to an American Staffing Association survey.

Even as government officials roll back Covid-19 requirements throughout the country, people are still anxious about being in around others again.

In fact, 69% of customers say that businesses in which employees wear masks make them feel more at ease.

So, it’s a comfort for the consumers to see employees wear masks since they’re potentially coming into close contact with more individuals than the average consumer.

Sanitize High-Touch Surfaces

81% of consumers said habitually cleaning high-traffic surfaces would make them feel more comfortable in businesses amid the coronavirus outbreak, including 55% who said it would make them feel “much more” comfortable.

According to the CDC, 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.

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, with a large number of people.
• Is poorly ventilated.
• Does not provide access to handwashing or hand sanitizer.
• Is occupied by people at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19.

If a sick person or someone who tested positive for COVID-19 has been in your facility within the last 24 hours, you should clean and disinfect the space.

Make Hand Sanitizers Available 

The average worker comes into contact with about 10 million bacteria a day. And bacteria can stay on a person’s hand for up to 3 hours.

By properly placing hand sanitizer throughout your business, you make it easier for people to sanitize their hands before they touch high-touch surfaces. Having sanitizer easily accessible also helps remind and encourage employees to use it more often.

And with 77% of U.S. adults stating how making hand sanitizer more available in businesses makes them feel more comfortable, installing more hand sanitizers around businesses is a great safety measure that has relatively low cost.

Purify Indoor Air

The threat of Covid-19 makes all indoor spaces a potential risk. Along with following proper COVID-19 best practices, having an air purifier capable of capturing ultrafine particles can help to reduce the spread of airborne viruses like COVID-19. Which is why the CDC recommends the use of HEPA air filtration in public spaces.

Many businesses are unable to provide the proper ventilation or filtration because they are housed in either in a modern building that is sealed shut, with no option to open a window or in an older building, with outdated HVAC systems. Using a portable HEPA air purifier, is a cost-effective way to ensure contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, are safely removed from the air.

Your customer and employees deserve to be in a space with clean air. Having this extra layer of protection added to where people come to gather is essential in helping to keep people well.

Here at NQ inc., we help businesses welcome visitors to better indoor environments with the same level of medical-grade air purification systems trusted by top healthcare facilities. NQ systems combine efficacy and aesthetics designed to provide the cleanest, pathogen-free air in just about any space.

Visit, https://nqinc.com/solutions/small-business/ to learn more about how NQ Air Purification Systems provide the economical solution business leaders need to eradicate airborne pathogens and create healthy businesses in any holiday season.