UNAIR NEWS – The number of COVID-19 positive cases is increasing by day. Various ways of prevention are carried out to break the chain of transmission, one of them by making a disinfection chamber. The disinfection chamber itself is a space that is expected to eliminate pathogenic microorganisms using chemicals.
Shintia Yunita Arini, S.KM., M.KKK., one of the Faculty of Public Health (FKM) Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) lecturers, revealed that WHO and BNPB did not recommend the use of disinfection chambers as a precautionary measure for COVID-19 transmission because they use chemicals that can harm the human body. Shintia added that disinfectants will work more effectively when used on non-porous surfaces.
There are several things that need to be considered in the use of chemicals as disinfectants. First is the contact time, to see how long the chemicals needed to destroy pathogens in the body. Shintia revealed, to destroy the COVID-19 virus, spraying disinfectants would take about 10-30 minutes.
The second thing to note is the selection of the right chemicals. Effective chemicals to destroy the COVID-19 virus are alcohol. Third is to assess the risk of each chemical using the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS).
The fourth is the right concentration in the use of chemicals to ensure that the chemicals are safe. The last thing to note is that chemicals must be used with the right techniques.
Please note that the COVID-19 virus cannot disappear only by sanitation, but must also be balanced with disinfection due to the highly infectious nature of the virus. Sanitation and disinfection are two different things. Sanitation itself can be interpreted as a process of reducing human contact with pathogens to the safe stage.
According to her, the most effective preventive measure is in accordance with government directives calling for people to take a shower immediately after their activities outside the home. Quickly wash clothes that have been used and do not forget to always wash your hands using soap before and after doing any activity.
“So, it can be concluded that the disinfection chambers not effective if it is used to destroy the COVID-19 virus because the contact time is only brief. In addition, chemicals used in the long term can cause danger to human health, “concluded the lecturer of Occupational Health and Safety on Wednesday, April 1, 2020. (*)
Author: Dita Aulia Rahma
Editor: Khefti Al Mawalia
