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Antibacterial surfaces to fight COVID-19

 Monday, June 1, 2020

Wood surfaces in hospitals are experiencing a unique challenge from “chance of contamination”, and this fear of spreading coronavirus from surfaces, encouraged the technicians and specialists of Catas, one of the most important European laboratory for the wood-furniture sector to concentrate on the topic and organise a specific webinar entirely dedicated to this subject. Creating awareness on antibacterial surfaces is essential in the new normal working environment, and the Catas Academy is taking all measures to inform about antibacterial strategies, sanitizing treatments on different types of surfaces (furniture, appliances and objects of daily use in homes and offices), test methods, interpretation of results and obligations under the relevant legislation, e.g. the European Biocides Regulation.

More and more often the technicians and specialists of Catas, the most important European laboratory for the wood-furniture sector are asked about this topic, and this continuous and growing need of clarifications has convinced them to organize a specific webinar entirely dedicated to this subject. The two webinars with Elena Conti, a biologist Head of the Microbiological Section of Catas, are scheduled for Thursday June 11 and June 23.

Discussion will include the role of surface as a possible source of contamination. Furniture surfaces at the time of coronavirus. Avoiding touch at office and how touch, leads to contamination and spread of virus. A simple act of touching a surface can be the source of many infections and some studies testify, for example, that the door handles or the elevator buttons of crowded places are among the primary causes of the transmission of many viruses. The transmission of the virus through the surfaces is evidently based on a first contact deriving from an infected person, mostly through the well-known “droplets” (saliva droplets transmitted through a sneeze, a cough or simply by speaking to another person) followed by the ability of the virus to survive on the contaminated surface.

Recent studies, applied precisely on Covid-19, described a fairly prolonged survival of this virus on plastics (up to 72 hours) and on steel (48 hours), while it is more limited on cardboard or copper. Also practical things have changed in our daily lives as a result of the dramatic effects of Covid-19 and we have learned that besides the mutual distance, the hygiene of our hands and of all the surfaces surrounding us is also crucial. These new needs and habits are determining significant consequences also for the world of furniture and finishes. There is, in fact, an increasingly requests of antibacterial surfaces in this regard, Catas has recently started specific studies collaborating with various partners of our sector.

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