Furniture hygiene in a post-COVID-19 era

Creating safe public spaces

On any given day, furniture in large public spaces can be used by hundreds if not thousands of people. Masses flock from different places and all walks of life to sit, lean and touch the furniture. When it comes to public health measures, furniture hygiene is too often overlooked in large spaces such as community centres, shopping malls, universities, airports and sometimes even hospitals. To protect our communities from the spread of contagions in high-traffic environments, it is essential for public furniture to be properly and regularly cleaned, disinfected and maintained by the local facility managers.

For example, at airports, the high volume of passengers from all over the world increases the likelihood of bacteria and virus exchange across demographics that are otherwise unlikely to interact. And since we cannot ask the masses to stay away from public spaces indefinitely, we must instead find ways to foster safe public places – places where people can feel less threat of contaminated surfaces and their neighbours. This can be done by making conscious choices of the setting of the furniture and following clear furniture hygiene processes.