Back to school but not just with a new pencil case; this term students will need a mask, a flow test, hand sanitiser & schools will need to disinfect as they never have before

8th March 2021 a confirmed date that parents around the country can put in the diary.  Finally, our children can be reunited with friends and teachers in the school environment.   But school life will have a different feel and lack the spontaneity that our young are craving.  Not only will they have to respect social distancing and wear masks, but they will be living in a highly sanitised world where washing their hands several times a day is the norm and schools disinfecting classrooms after every lesson is standard. 

Government guidelines stipulate that schools should ‘maintain enhanced cleaning, including cleaning frequently touched surfaces often, using standard products such as detergents.’  But at what cost to the health of our children and their teachers do we disinfect?  How can schools ensure that what they are using to keep their students and staff free from the virus does not pose other threats to their health? 

Covid-19 has forced us to look at infection control in a new way; and right now this focus is firmly on the school setting. There is mounting concern that many commonly used disinfectants may not be up to the job of dealing with a pandemic; contact time may be too long, efficacy questionable with often a moderate pathogen control and many include chemicals that could be harmful to our health and the environment, especially when used with the frequency required to prevent spread of the virus.

Enter MicroSafe®, a non-toxic, non-corrosive, non-harmful but highly efficient disinfectant distributed by Purazine in the UK.   The active ingredient of MicroSafe is HOCl, a weak acid that occurs naturally in the human immune system.   

MicroSafe is 99.9999% (Log 6) effective in killing viruses, bacteria and other pathogens within a contact time of 30 seconds and has a proven track record of combatting epidemics around the world (MERS, SARS, Ebola) as well SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) in Australia and the Middle East. Purazine introduced MicroSafe to the UK in 2020 in direct response to the pandemic.

The result of twenty years’ research, the patented and internationally approved Microcyn® technology that makes MicroSafe so unique, uses an electrochemical process to produce Hypochlorous Acid (HOCl) similar to the natural HOCl produced by the human immune system to fight infection.   This process results in a pH balanced disinfectant, that is free of harmful chemicals such as additives and alcohol.  MicroSafe can be ‘fogged’ as a fine mist to ensure that no surface is left un-sanitised.   Historically, HOCl disinfectant’s shelf life was very limited but uniquely, MicroSafe remains shelf-stable for a minimum of two years, needing no special storage, handling or disposal and is kind to the environment.

Dr Hugh Martin, recent former Head of Agricultural Science at RAU and consultant with HOCl Trust says:

“With this level of efficacy, contact time, shelf life and being non-corrosive, MicroSafe sets the gold standard in disinfectants making it ideal for use in school settings where it will be safe to be used all in areas such as classrooms, labs and dining halls as well as for general disinfection application.”

In preparation for pupils returning to Chippenham’s Abbeyfield School on the 8th March, Deputy Head, Mr Spencer Cutler has been in touch with Purazine to request a new portable, battery operated fogger and additional MicroSafe to help disinfect sports equipment which needs a fast turnaround time. He says:

“Keeping our school community safe is a priority during this challenging time and having the opportunity to use MicroSafe has been beneficial in doing this. Sanitising a school is an enormous task, the advantage of using MicoSafe is that large areas can be sanitised quickly and efficiently with no impact on the learning or safety of our students, staff or equipment. MicroSafe has given us an additional level of security that we didn’t have before; paramount especially in this phase of the pandemic.” 

Dr David Cox of Purazine who distributes MicroSafe in the UK says;

“It is clear that we are going to have to learn to co-exist with Covid-19 and other viruses in the future but it’s vital that our solution to the virus does not cause additional problems especially for our children in the school setting.  MicroSafe needs to be part of all schools’ mitigation measures to keep Covid at bay; it is a product that is free of harmful chemicals, efficient and easy to use, limiting further interruption in students’ education.  They have waited long enough to get back to school, now let’s make sure that they can stay there and continue with their education but safely.” 

For more please visit: www.purazine.co.uk