The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently updated its guidance concerning the surface transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19. The CDC recognizes the principal way people are infected with COVID-19 “is through exposure to respiratory droplets carrying infectious virus.” CDC says it is possible for people to be infected through contact with contaminated surfaces or objects, but says the risk is “generally considered to be low.”
CDC has determined washing your hands was a more effective preventative measure than a once or twice a day surface disinfection.
Those in opposition to the aggressive cleaning routines adopted by many transit agencies during the health crisis called for the end of what they have dubbed “hygiene theater.”
Derek Thompson, a staff writer for The Atlantic and a vociferous opponent of hygiene theater, recently concluded a piece on the CDC’s new guidelines with:
"The CDC’s announcement should be curtains for theatrical deep cleanings. But until companies, transit authorities, retailers and magazines embrace the value of scientific discovery and the joy of learning new things, the show, and the soap, will go on."
Point made, albeit in an arrogant and condescending way. Most of the people who make up the groups listed are professions with various degrees of expertise, but the majority of them are not epidemiologists or other infectious disease experts. Decisions are made with the best information of the moment and in a situation, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, where shifting of guidance is a regular occurrence, the ability to remain flexible and nimble have become synonymous with survival.
While the CDC’s new guidance encourages a focus on air filtration over surface cleaning to limit the spread of the COVID-causing virus, what it does not address is what those cleanings do to fight other surface contaminates. Nor does the guidance address the “soft science” of psychology regarding riders’ comfort levels in returning to transit.
Last August, Via conducted a survey of nearly 600 of its riders in Arlington, Texas, Jersey City, N.J., New York City and Washington, D.C., to gauge their trust in transit. At the time of the survey, more than 84 percent of respondents said they would be somewhat or entirely comfortable riding a bus one year in the future (that would be August 2021). When asked what features would be a strict requirement for riders to use public transit, the top three were enforcement of social distancing, daily cleaning and mandatory masks for riders.
Transit agencies are stretching their funding in a multitude of ways to meet the challenge of this pandemic. Science-backed guidance is key but consistency in that guidance is vital to ensuring agencies can both honor the science while meeting rider expectations.
