Japanese Society for Infection Prevention and Control-Online Journal

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Pollution Risk of Buffet-style Restaurants and Countermeasures～Living with COVID-19～

Yoshiko NAKATANI¹⁾, Hiroyuki KUNISHIMA²⁾ and Koichi TOKUDA³⁾
¹⁾Department of Infection Control, St. Marianna University Hospital, ²⁾Department of Infectious Diseases, St. Marianna University, ³⁾Division of Infection Control, Tohoku University Hospital

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has completely changed our lives and forced us to revise our previous lifestyles. In this study, we collaborated with NHK to visually determine the risk of infection in a buffet-style restaurant using fluorescent paint. We found that the virus spread through indirect contact with high-frequency contact surfaces such as tableware. Furthermore, the transmission of the virus was minimized by implementing appropriate measures such as maintaining hand hygiene. Cooperation in society is essential because COVID-19 is an infectious disease that can spread not only in cities but also in hospitals. In the future, visualizing and spreading awareness about infection control through the efforts of media and infectious disease specialists will become increasingly important.

Key words：COVID-19, high frequency contact surface, hand hygiene

e-mail: y.nakatani＠marianna-u.ac.jp

Received: September 2, 2020
Accepted: December 7, 2020

36 (2)：89─91,2021