Gold Coast cleaning business Infection Protection cashes in on high school gastro outbreak and COVID crisis

A gastro outbreak at a Gold Coast school has had a surprising impact on a local business. FIND OUT WHY PHONES ARE ‘RINGING OFF THE HOOK’

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A GOLD Coast cleaning business that specialises in eradicating COVID-19 and the virus that causes gastrointestinal illness has been inundated with inquiries from companies and schools after a local gastro virus outbreak.

Last week the Gold Coast Public Health Unit (GCPHU) said it was helping Pacific Pines State High School to identify the cause of a gastrointestinal illness outbreak and stop it spreading. On Wednesday a GCPHU spokesperson said there were a few more cases but that it was “within what we expect as the transmission decreases due to improved hygiene/infection control measures”.

Rob Whiteley, co-founder and managing director of Infection Protection, said “phones have been ringing off the hook from customers wanting disinfection services” on the Gold Coast.

“Our disinfectants are registered with Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), and are perfectly safe for our customers and guaranteed to kill COVID-19 and the virus that causes gastro,” he said.

Infection Protection has been swamped with requests from Gold Coast schools after a gastro outbreak at a local high school. Photo: Infection Protection website

Mr Whiteley said Infection Protection was the first organisation in Australia to use Clorox Total 360 to sanitise and disinfect facilities, killing COVID-19 as well as 43 other viruses and bacteria. It also uses Nanocyn, a highly accredited disinfectant that carries a GECA rating.

“Using a unique electrostatic 360-degree spraying machine, our team members can quickly coat surfaces with hospital-grade disinfectant, destroying most germs and viruses,” he said.

Mr Whiteley said schools and businesses across southeast Queensland had already called upon Infection Protection to treat their premises to help ensure the safety of staff, students and customers. The business was started by Mr Whiteley after he read an article on SARS and the growth of influenza A in 2018.

“Our solution is affordable and ensures a wider coverage in those hard to reach places that deep cleaning by hand can often miss. With our service we can get kids and teachers back to school fast and with the confidence that they are in a safer, cleaner place,” he said.

“Right now it’s all about disinfecting and reducing the extent of gastro virus spread.”

Mr Whiteley, who works between his Varsity Lakes and Brisbane offices, said his aim was to encourage businesses across Australia, as well as aged care, government and educational facilities, to regularly and proactively treat all spaces where people gathered to prevent infection.

Infection Protection was slated to formally launch mid-2020, however, the global pandemic and the realisation that the business could immediately help protect the community triggered an early launch in April last year.

“The response has been overwhelming with our clients already spanning from Brisbane to the Gold Coast,” he said.

“We would never have believed we would be creating new jobs in what is now considered a rapidly growing essential service,” said Howard Dennerstein, co-founder of Infection Protection.

Cleaning requirements as a result of COVID have had to be stepped up at every single public space in Queensland. Photo by Fiona Goodall/Getty Images

“Our proactive infection control program is designed to keep workspaces and public areas safe. By sanitising and disinfecting areas on a weekly-basis, we are helping employers reduce costs by having less staff off sick while simultaneously improving the safety of these facilities.

“If there is a sudden outbreak, like this gastro outbreak, we deploy our on-call rapid response team that can quickly come out to sanitise and disinfect the entire facility.”

Some of Queensland’s most prestigious private schools have already called on Infection Protection’s services. The business provides weekly services to many businesses including Bunzl Safety at Yatala on the Gold Coast to help ensure the safety of workers.

HEALTH UNIT WARNS OF ‘INFECTIOUS’ GASTRO OUTBREAK AT COAST SCHOOL – Feb 9

THE Gold Coast Public Health Unit (GCPHU) is working with Pacific Pines State High School to identify the cause of a gastrointestinal illness outbreak and stop it spreading.

GCPHU physician Dr Vicki Slinko said the outbreak should serve as a strong reminder to practise hand hygiene — particularly using soap and water which was most effective in killing these types of viruses.

“We understand people are regularly using alcohol-based hand gel, which is important but one of the issues with infectious gastroenteritis is that some of the viruses that can cause these outbreaks aren’t killed by those gels,” Dr Slinko said.

“This is why we need people to take hand washing with soap and water seriously – it’s the most effective way of preventing the spread by washing germs off your hands and down the sink and not leaving them on hands to fester and share.

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The Gold Coast Public Health Unit is working with Pacific Pines State High School to identify the cause of a gastrointestinal illness outbreak and stop it spreading.

“Even the mechanical action of drying your hands after washing helps to remove them.

“It is also vital that parents don’t send kids back to school or childcare for at least 48 hours after their symptoms have settled as they can still be infectious and pass the virus on to other children in that time.”

In a letter to parents, Dr Slinko said gastroenteritis was highly infectious and could be passed from person to person very easily.

“The organisms may also be found in contaminated water or food. Gastroenteritis usually spreads when hands, food, objects and surfaces become contaminated with faeces or vomit and the infectious organism is transferred to the mouth when eating, drinking or touching the mouth,” she said.

“For some viruses, spread can also occur via small airborne particles circulating in the air during or after vomiting attacks.

“People with gastroenteritis are very infectious while they are feeling unwell and they can continue to be infectious for days or weeks after they have recovered.”

Concerned families can call 5667 3200.

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