ADVANCING AVIATION SAFETY AND SECURITY SINCE 1931

Health and Research

Last update: 6:10 p.m. 05/08/2020

Scientific Research Papers and Studies

• What tests could potentially be used for the screening, diagnosis and monitoring of COVID-19 and what are their advantages and disadvantages? (Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine) 
• Aerosol and Surface Stability of SARS-CoV-2 as Compared with SARS-CoV-1, New England Journal of Medicine
• Persistence of coronaviruses on inanimate surfaces and their inactivation with biocidal agents, Kampf G et al., Journal of Hospital Infection (Sani-Com ineffectiveness study)
• Respirator masks protect health but impact performance, Journal of Biological Engineering
• LitCovid: A Unique System from the National Institutes of Health for Tracking All COVID-19 Publications 
• An Illustrated Scientific Study: Video from Yale University provides a comprehensive synopsis of the importance of following CDC guidelines

COVID-19 Tracking Tools

• Disease Tracking Map: Johns Hopkins University tracks global cases
• Disease Peak Projections: Interactive tool sorts disease peak projections and other information by country or state

General Health Recommendations

• Find COVID-19 Test Kits in Your Area (Call Ahead)
• Local and State Health Department Contacts 
• AFL-CIO: Respirators, Masks & Face Shields 
• NIOSH: Hierarchy of Controls
• CDC:
  • Public Health Recommendations for Community-Related Exposure 
  • Recommendation Regarding the Use of Cloth Face Coverings 
  • Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers to Plan and Respond to COVID-19 
  • CARE Booklet (Check and Record Everyday) 
  • Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers to Plan and Respond to Coronavirus Disease 201 
  • Discontinuation of Home Isolation for Persons with COVID-19
  • Interim U.S. Guidance for Risk Assessment and Public Health Management of Persons with Potential COVID-19 Exposures
  • Update and Interim Guidance on Outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 
  • Coronovirus Disease 2019
  • Newsroom
  • Handwashing Guidance
  • U.S. Flu Season Impacts, 2019-2020
• Government of Canada:
  • Know the difference: Self-monitoring, self-isolation, and isolation for COVID-19 
  • How to isolate at home when you have COVID-19
  • Coronavirus Symptoms and Treatment
  • 2019 Novel Coronavirus Outbreak Update
• WHO: Situation Reports
• OSHA: 2019 Novel Coronavirus
• ICWUC Center’s COVID-19 Outbreak Bulletin: Protecting Workers

World Health Organization Recommendations to Avoid Transmission

• Avoid close contact with people suffering from acute respiratory infections.
• Frequently wash hands, especially after direct contact with ill people or their environment.
• Avoid close contact with live or dead farm or wild animals.
• Practice cough etiquette if you have symptoms of acute respiratory infection (i.e., maintain distance and cover coughs and sneezes with disposable tissues or clothing). 

Statement from the Manufacturer of Sani-Com Wipes

Celeste Industries Corporation has provided ALPA with the following statement regarding the effectiveness of Sani-Com against COVID-19:

"Sani-Com: A hand sanitizer is regulated through the FDA and Disinfectants are regulated through the EPA. Celeste Sani-Com contains the appropriate levels of Benzalkonium Chloride that is called out in the FDA monograph for hand sanitizing. We cannot say anything other than it is effective at removing germs from the skin. We cannot make specific claims against specific organisms or diseases. Purell recently received a warning letter for claiming their hand sanitizer prevented Ebola and some other specific diseases. It is a hand sanitizer and a hard surface cleaner."

Pilots and Alcohol-Based Sanitizers

Pilots who are concerned about the potential for testing positive for alcohol consumption through skin absorption may question whether it is safe to use alcohol-based hand sanitizers and surface disinfectants for the novel coronoavirus (nCoV) and whether there are suitable alternatives. According to ALPA’s aeromedical advisor, Dr. Quay Snyder, alcohol-based disinfectants could, in theory, be absorbed through the skin and create a positive alcohol urine test, but other forms of testing for alcohol abstinence (i.e., breath and blood) would not test positive. Daily physical contact with a significant amount of alcohol-based disinfectant or sanitizer could potentially result in a positive test. Nonpermeable gloves provide adequate protection for a pilot who wishes to sanitize surfaces with an alcohol-based disinfectant. And nonalcohol-based sanitizers, such as those that are hexachlorophene-based (used in surgical scrub), followed by a 20-second wash with soap and hot water, is a good, alternative sanitizing method.