A recent study has found that protecting ultrasound providers during COVID means disinfecting the air as well as surfaces, according to an article on the Infection Control Today website. Representatives from four medical organizations in China collaborated this year to produce the recommendation about air sanitation during the outbreak. 

The team based their recommendations on existing hygiene standards, practitioner experience, and existing literature.

Rooms reserved for patients without known or suspected COVID infection should be ventilated for at least 30 minutes in both the morning and evening, and ultraviolet light should be added after all patients have been seen for the day. For rooms used for patients who are suspected of infection,  in addition to the daily ventilation measures, the team also said departments should also use a 3 percent hydrogen peroxide spray or a UV lamp for 60 minutes after each patient. 

The researchers also said facilities should designate certain areas to be strictly used by patients or providers. For example, each group should have separate hallways. In addition, some areas should be off-limits except to providers, and departments should create two buffer zones where providers can put on and take off PPE.

According to a spring report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it may be possible to get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching your face. The COVID-19 pandemic suggests that this virus is spreading more efficiently than influenza, but not as efficiently as measles, which is highly contagious.

Read the full Infection Control Today article.