Considerations for Laundromats and other Shared Laundry Facilities
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Considerations for Laundromats and
other Shared Laundry Facilities
Background
As of December 26th, 2020 Ontario entered a province-wide shutdown. The COVID-19
Response Framework is paused when the Province wide Shutdown is in effect. The
shutdown will be maintained in Grey Bruce for at least 28 days. The regulation that
establishes the rules for the Province-wide Shutdown is O. Reg. 82/20.
On Jan 12, 2021 the Ontario government declared a second provincial emergency
under s 7.0.1 (1) of the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMPCA)
effective Thursday, January 14, 2021. As part of this declaration, the province issued a
stay-at-home order requiring everyone to remain at home with exceptions for essential
purposes. Trips outside of the home should be limited and only for essential purposes
(accessing health care and medication, grocery shopping, laundry services, child care,
exercising alone or with people in your household (the people you live with) and in the
community where you live, walking pets when required, and supporting vulnerable
community members to meet the needs above).
Additionally, the province has issued directions to work from home except where
necessary. Each person responsible for a business or organization that is open must
ensure that any person who performs work for the business or organization conducts
their work remotely, with limited exception, for instance, where the nature of their work
requires them to be on-site at the workplace.
Organized public events and social gatherings
No indoor organized public events and social gatherings, except with members of
the same household
Version 6: Jan 14, 2021 Page 1 of 5o Single parents and individuals who live alone, including seniors, may
consider having exclusive, close contact with another household to help
reduce the negative impacts of social isolation.
Limit for outdoor organized public events and social gatherings, physical
distancing can be maintained:
o 5 people outdoors
Face Coverings
Every person in the premises of a business or organization that is open shall ensure
that they wear a mask or face covering that covers their mouth, nose and chin, when
they are in indoor areas of the premises, with limited exemptions.
Safety Plans
All businesses open must prepare and make available a COVID-19 safety plan. A copy
of the plan shall be made available to any person for review upon request, and be
posted where it would come to the attention of individuals working in or attending the
business.
For more information about the general public health and workplaces safety measures
for all businesses, organizations and facilities, visit Enhancing public health and
workplace safety measures in the provincewide shutdown | Ontario.ca.
.
About COVID-19 Transmission
There is little evidence available specifically about transmission of COVID-19 by
clothing or personal items. In theory, it is possible that clothing can become
contaminated and virus transferred from clothing to hands. It is likely that COVID-19 is
viable for a shorter length of time on soft surfaces, such as fabric. COVID-19 can live on
hard surfaces like laundry machines for hours to days. Hard surfaces in shared or public
settings must be disinfected frequently. Health Canada has a list of disinfectants that
are effective against COVID-19. Handwashing is always an important measure to
prevent the spread of disease.
The following considerations may be helpful for staying safe while handling laundry or
when using shared laundry facilities.
Version 6: Jan 14, 2021 Page 2 of 5Key messages:
COVID-19 infected laundry should be stored separately and in a closed container
(a tied bag) to avoid accidental handling and spread of the virus. The infected
laundry can be washed and dried with your regular laundry load.
Wash or discard the dirty clothes bag.
Do not shake dirty laundry.
Wash your hands after handling dirty laundry
Keep personal devices, such as smartphones, stored away while doing laundry
to avoid contamination.
Continue to:
o Wash your hands often with soap and water or alcohol-based hand
sanitizer
o Practice physical distancing
o Wear a cloth mask or face covering when visiting any indoor public setting
o Stay at home if you are sick
o Clean and disinfect high-touch objects and surfaces frequently
o Sneeze and cough into your sleeve
o Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth
If you wear a reusable cloth mask or face covering, machine-wash with hot water
and regular detergent.
Steps for Safely Using Shared Laundry Facilities:
1. Wash your hands before touching any laundry.
2. Keep 2 m (6 ft) away from others in the shared space. Face coverings are
mandatory in commercial establishments. Within multi-unit dwellings, masks or
face coverings are mandated in any public spaces such as lobbies, elevators and
shared laundry facilities. Where possible, consider how ventilation in the laundry
area can be improved by opening windows and/or doors with permission from
facility management.
Version 6: Jan 14, 2021 Page 3 of 5a. The number of people allowed in at one time will be determined by the
space available.
b. Respect this and be patient.
c. Do laundry during off-peak hours.
3. Wipe down controls, handles, and fronts of machines with a disinfectant before
using.
4. Do not shake out dirty laundry before placing in washer.
5. Wash hands after loading washer and placing coins in machine.
6. Wash clothing with regular laundry soap and the warmest temperature possible.
You do not have to add bleach. Do not overload the washer.
7. Transfer wet laundry to dryer and dry completely at the highest temperature
possible. Dry laundry completely.
8. Wash hands after transferring wet laundry.
9. Do not leave dirty laundry or laundry bins on top of machines or tables.
10. Disinfect laundry bins before filling with clean clothes.
11. Wait to fold clean laundry at home.
12. Do not leave dryer doors open when not in use.
13. Wash hands when you get home before folding clean laundry.
How to launder face coverings:
Place directly into the washing machine or a bag that can be emptied into the
washing machine.
Wash with other items using a hot cycle with laundry detergent and dry
thoroughly.
Wash your hands after putting the face covering into the laundry.
Version 6: Jan 14, 2021 Page 4 of 5 All face coverings that cannot be cleaned should be thrown out and replaced
after each use or as soon as they get slightly wet, dirty or crumpled.
Following these guidelines will help to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and keep you
safe while doing laundry in shared spaces.
Resources
O. Reg. 82/20: RULES FOR AREAS IN STAGE 1 (ontario.ca) - Government of Ontario
Using Shared Laundry Facilities During the COVID-19 Pandemic – National
Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health
Wash your clothes as soon as you get home poster
Cleaning and Disinfecting for Public Spaces – Public Health Ontario
AHS Briefing on Personal Items and Clothing – April 3, 2020 - Alberta Health Services
Non-medical Masks and Face Coverings – Public Health Ontario
Version 6: Jan 14, 2021 Page 5 of 5You can also read
