Key Points

Updated: July 31, 2020

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Key Points

• Global COVID-19 cases have exceeded 17 million cases (with over 600,000 deaths). The United States accounts for almost 4.5 million of these cases. Read more about its impacts here, through CIDRAP.

• Recommendations for Industry, TAG has received many inquiries about sharing graphics developed by TAG in public forums outside of food and beverage facilities (including an updated Symptoms infographic poster – which illustrates various COVID-19 symptoms). Read more here and please share! 

• The CDC has updated its guidelines on Cleaning and Disinfect facilities. Find it here. 

  • Please note that the below applies to the context of cleaning and sanitation.

    • Temporarily turn off in-room, window-mounted, or on-wall recirculation HVAC to avoid contamination of the HVAC units.

    • Do NOT deactivate central HVAC systems. These systems tend to provide better filtration capabilities and introduce outdoor air into the areas that they serve.

    • Consider temporarily turning off room fans and the central HVAC system that services the room or space, so that particles that escape from vacuuming will not circulate throughout the facility.

    • Otherwise, air should be moving out as much as possible

  • Additionally, “the efficacy of alternative disinfection methods, such as ultrasonic waves, high intensity UV radiation, and LED blue light against COVID-19 virus is not known”.

• A few weeks ago, the White House shifted COVID-19 reporting data collection from the CDC to a new online system run by the White House Coronavirus Task Force, citing a quicker, more transparent, and accurate release of COVID-19 data. Despite these promises, this public data hub has not been kept up-to-date and has begun reporting data sporadically, leading to a House investigation [Link to Memo]. Read more here. 

• While COVID-19 has delayed FDA routine inspections of small businesses to verify compliance with FSMA’s International Adulteration Rule, the expected compliance date (July 27, 2020) has not changed. If you and your business have not yet put together a food defense program (or you’d like to review your current food defense program to protect your facility), TAG has summarized the rule and compiled some best practices for you, here.

• A new research paper explores the expansive and role of aerosol transmission as it occurred aboard the Diamond Princess. Read more here.

• The CDC has released its “COVID-19 Response Health Equity Strategy: Accelerating Progress Towards Reducing COVID-19 Disparities and Achieving Health Equity”. Read more about how the CDC hopes to tackle the health inequities that have become more apparent as a result of this pandemic.