THE EDITOR: In January I was privileged to be a guest on Morning Edition as president/founder of the newly launched Janitorial Association of TT (JATT). In my interview with host Fazeer Mohammed, I highlighted the reasons for the formation of the association, as well as its objectives.

One of the main objectives of JATT is the importance of cleaners and cleaning protocols in healthcare facilities and other heavily trafficked organisations. While significant attention has been placed on the need to be vaccinated, very little has been said about the increase in the rate of infections, despite vaccinations, state of emergency and lockdowns.

The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC), in one of its articles, emphasised, 'To be effective, environmental cleaning activities must be implemented within the framework of a facility's infection prevention control (IPC) program.'

It further states that seven out of every 100 people visiting a healthcare facility are infected.

It is very interesting to note that despite all the measures adopted by the Government, the rate of infection continues to climb. It is obvious therefore that this covid19 virus is able to survive for months on environmental surfaces and has proven to be much more intelligent than its predecessors. Hence, the observance and importance of protocols in carrying out the critical functions of cleaning, sanitising and disinfecting in keeping with IPC.

Particular standards and a universal approach to cleaning, particularly in healthcare facilities, have been outlined to prevent the rate of infection of healthcare-associated infections. This implies that our healthcare facilities do not have a robust IPC cleaning programme, neither is there a cleaning manual, a cleaning committee nor managers responsible for IPC in our healthcare system.

Our healthcare facilities have become high-risk places to visit. It is well documented that environmental contamination in healthcare and other settings plays a role in the transmission of healthcare-associated and other forms of infections. It is a multifaceted intervention that involves cleaning and disinfection of the environment alongside other key programmes, such as vaccinations, that constitute the war on this virus. We must be educated with the way we perform our duties in regards to cleaning our environment, particularly our healthcare facilities.

This is the mantra of JATT - getting this message across to those in charge of cleaning, sanitising and disinfecting our healthcare facilities. It is imperative that the people responsible for these duties are properly trained and guided in doing so. Now, more than ever, is the time. The three Ws - wash your hands, wear your mask, watch your distance - alone cannot work anymore; our nation is highly infected. Apart from the avoidance of becoming infected ourselves, we need to treat the areas that can cause these infections. We need to get aggressive with our high-touch areas and win the battle against this drea