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Hotels, Salons, Hospitals Turn to Powerful Light to Disinfect and Sanitize

In May, after given the green light from the county to reopen, Janie Snyder, owner of the Nobel Salon in La Jolla, purchased a air purifier equipped with an internal UV light sanitizer.

This was her attempt to keep her staff and clients safe amid the global pandemic, she said, as the UVC light helps to kill airborne viruses and the air filter claims to reduce up to 99.9% of harmful germs from the air.

“We wanted to make our clients feel that we were going above and beyond to keep them safe,” said Snyder, who opened the salon in 2019. “I actually got a couple new clients just because they heard that I was using this method. They told me they felt I was taking the necessary measures to protect them from the virus.”

Snyder is just one of a handful of local business owners that have turned to the electromagnetic radiation of which one strand, UVC, is believed to kill SARS Cov 2, better known as COVID-19.

Germ-Zapping Robot

A San Antonio-based germ-zapping robot manufacturer, Xenex Disinfection Services Inc., is working with four San Diego-based hospitals to help fight the spread of the virus within its facilities.

Sharp Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa, Sharp Coronado Hospital, Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center and Sharp Memorial Hospital are all using the X5 LightStrike Robot. It emits broad spectrum, high-intensity pulsed light from xenon UV bulbs that can effectively kill pathogens, including COVID, in a seven-by-seven-foot room in five minutes, according to the company.

“Because of the pandemic, we have seen a surge in the healthcare community, but also, from industries outside of healthcare as organizations get ready for people to go back to work, to play, to live and want to create a virus-free environment,” said Melinda Hart, spokesperson for Xenex.

Disinfection Technology

Neil Mandalia, manager of environment services at Sharp Grossmont Hospital, said the disinfection technology of the robots enhances the effectiveness of cleaning protocols already in place.

“The robots, who have been affectionately named Dallas and Lumiere, have become an extension of our environmental service team,” he said. “We have found that the disinfection technology of these robots, along with traditional manual cleaning by our environmental service staff, has helped ensure the cleanest environment free from dangerous pathogens. We understand that hospitals nationwide who use the robots have reported a greater than 50% reduction in infections rates of various pathogens.”

Mandalia said the area the robot is able to penetrate is more than any individual is able to reach, and the speed in which it can complete disinfection is much faster.

UV Wands

Michael O’Donohue, general manager at Pendry San Diego, founded in 2017 and located downtown, said as part of its safety plan and procedure, it is using UV wands on all room keys, among other smaller items.

“At arrival and check-out, registration cards, credit card devices, room keys and pens will also be sanitized with a UV wand prior to being provided to guests, among many other health and safety protocols we have thoughtfully put in place,” he said.

SARS Cov 2

The use of UVC light to disinfect against viruses and bacteria is not new, according to reports.

What’s new information is that it can effectively eradicate the novel coronavirus, or SARS Cov 2.

As part of a study at Boston University’s National Emerging Effective Diseases Laboratories just last month, it was learned that a 5mj/cm2 dose of UVC light can kill 99% of the virus in six seconds.

Drones

Most recently and inspired by the effectiveness of UV light killing COVID-19, two UC San Diego professors embarked on developing a drone system that can sanitize surfaces with the use of UVC light strips.

“Our drones are off the shelf drones,” said Tara Javidi, professor at Jacobs School of Engineering, adding that the drone should have a camera and need to be flown properly in order to work. “Ideally, we would like to be able to do this with any drone that people have at their disposal.”

The next step will be to test the prototype and see if it can indeed kill the coronavirus, she said.

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