The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic is spreading across the world rapidly and poses unprecedented challenges to health care systems. It is transmitted primarily by the droplet route, although surface contact may play an important role as well. Although people are aware of universal mask wearing to reduce respiratory droplet transmission, contact transmission, particularly indirectly, is a danger that is often overlooked. There are some sources of nonnegligible routes for indirect contact in hospitals, such as keyboards and elevator buttons often used daily by frontline health care workers. However, it is difficult to disinfect these areas thoroughly because of their uneven surfaces. This constitutes a barrier to the precaution of contact transmission.
Solution
The transparent plastic wrap widely used in everyday life is well known for its excellent adhesion, low cost, and lightweight properties. Here we propose a novel use of plastic wrap to cover keyboard and elevator buttons that may help to reduce indirect contact transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 effectively. The wrap fits the keyboard and elevator buttons well and does not affect their recognition and appearance. It can be replaced daily because of its low cost and simplicity, and allows uneven surfaces to be cleansed (Fig 1).
Fig 1
Plastic wrap on keyboard and elevator buttons.
Further research is needed to understand whether the barrier properties of plastic wrap are impaired by the use of standard cleansers.Plastic wrap on keyboard and elevator buttons.
Fig 1