Visakhapatnam: Sanitising homes & workplaces on the rise

Visakhapatnam: Ever since the studies indicated a strong evidence of transmission of Covid-19 through air, there is an increased awareness among people to consider suitable precautionary measures.

Currently, almost every other street in a neighbourhood has a Covid-19 positive patient availing home isolation.

According to Health officials, more than 2,400 patients are availing home isolation in Visakhapatnam, while 95 are getting treated at Covid Care Centres operated by the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC).

As the count is likely to swell in future, the demand for seeking disinfection services has seen a rise in recent days.

Those who have completed their treatment are now preferring to disinfect their house once their isolation period concludes. The process of sanitising is opted to ensure a safe and virus-free environment for the rest of the family.

Earlier, as soon as a Covid patient was identified, GVMC used to spray disinfectants in the surrounding area. Also, many used to opt hospitalisation rather than home isolation then. These were some of the reasons that were attributed to a minimum number of people opting to disinfect their homes.

However, the current scenario is totally different. With children and youngsters not being spared in the second wave of Covid-19, those with comorbidities and having children at home are paying special attention to sanitising the premises. A resident of CBM Compound B Venkata Rao mentioned that he had utilised the service of a sanitisation agency.

"Very recently, one of my neighbours got infected with Covid-19. With kids around, I do not want to take any risk. I got my home sanitised by engaging a private service provider. Though it did cost me Rs1,000, they did a neat job," he reasons.

In a way, the disinfection exercise is providing employment opportunities to a section of people. "Apart from homes, the demand to sanitise office premises, commercial space and educational institutions has witnessed an equal rise."

"We do follow two methods of disinfecting a place. One is by blending the disinfectants with ethyl alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, benzalkonium chloride for the indoor spraying.

Focus will be on frequently contacted points such as door knobs, computer keyboards, chair handles, switchboards, among others. Two, fog will be sprayed to suck away virus from the air," explains Gadi Raju Lokesh Varma from Covid Warriors Sanitary Services.

Depending on the area, the charge of the service provider varies. Along with single, weekly and monthly packages, eco-friendly and odour-free options are also offered by the agencies.