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Since the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses offering sanitisation and cleaning services have been in high demand. These persons, like health workers, are on the front line, potentially exposing themselves to the highly infectious virus. It is a high-risk job and is even riskier now that Jamaica is experiencing community spread.

"Before and after a cleaning, members of the team are interviewed, and most of the buildings we go in, we aren't allowed to go in without temperature checks. Outside of that, we wear our personal protective equipment (PPE) ... the members have on hazmat coveralls, goggles, masks, gloves, etcetera," a director for Sanitize It Jamaica, a cleaning service, told THE STAR.

The company has been in operation for four years and has never seen anything quite as risky as the COVID-19 pandemic. Hence, there are protocols members must follow, and after each operation they have to report to the Ministry of Health and Wellness. So far, no worker has tested positive for the virus.

We are very careful

"All of our PPEs, except for the work boots, are disposable. If we use a mop, it is disposed. If we use a rag, it is disposed. All of the hazmat suits are disposed, and we are very careful how we dispose of these items," the director said.

Jamaica yesterday recorded three new COVID-19-related deaths, pushing the total to 126. There have been 7,191 positive cases confirmed on the island, 4,268 of which are classified as active.

Jordane Simpson, a cleaner for the company, told THE STAR that he loves the fact that he is doing a job that is contributing to the safety and well-being of Jamaicans.

"I love the role that I have played so far in this pandemic. I look forward to helping others, and I have learnt things on the job that I can practise at home to protect my family," he said.

"Mentally, it takes a good amount of focus when we are working and we have trained and prepared, even though you can never be too prepared and overconfident. There's a buddy system, where teams of two or three watch each other. It's a mental strain, yes, but we have to concentrate."

The director says resources have been set aside should a member become infected. He said, too, that business has been booming since the pandemic.

"A lot of sanitising jobs and opportunities have come up in terms of cleaning, chemical distribution, and so forth. We have cleared up some of the major cases, like the Portmore cluster, along with a lot of other companies and call centres within Kingston," he said.