The recent COVID-19 pandemic was, without doubt, one of the most deadly pandemics in human history…and continues to be so, and this article looks at the importance of handwashing stations.
This week saw the USA reach the milestone of a total of 1 million COVID-related deaths since the start of the pandemic and, at the time of writing, the UK is sadly closing in on 200,000 deaths.
Think back – it wasn’t that long ago since we were all housebound, ‘waiting it out for a couple of weeks’. Remember furlough? It wasn’t even a word for many people only a couple of years ago. And queueing for the supermarkets! Now that’s a distance memory – all we do now is queue for fuel…
And that’s not wanting to make light of it. The impact it had on society at large was immense, with many people continuing to struggle today. Perhaps the most harrowing was seeing people’s loved ones dying in hospital beds, without their beloved families by their sides.
The vaccination programme which, by anyone’s standards, has been hugely impressive by the UK Government, has meant that we’re now at the point where we’re starting to learn to live with COVID. Easier said than done, of course.
That said, face masks are more or less gone, international travel is back and there’s certainly a return to live events and other large gatherings. Naturally, there’s a thirst amongst the public to get ‘back to normal’, whatever that now looks like. And let’s face it, we all deserve a break…
Back in the middle of the pandemic, the slogan was ‘hands, face, space’, encouraging us to be washing and sanitising our hands at every opportunity. Indeed, hand sanitiser quickly sold out, and the popularity of our hand sanitizer stations for hire here at Event Hire UK was unprecedented, as you might imagine.
But, are handwashing stations and hand sanitizer stations still necessary at events?
Whilst there’s not a legal obligation to be providing hand washing stations and sanitiser dispensers, we would suggest that it’s a sensible and logical step if you are an event organiser. Even if COVID wasn’t around, clean hands are always preferable, helping to stop of the spread of general germs amongst people.
If you are an exhibition organiser, for instance, why not place hand sanitiser dispensers in the entrance foyer, positioning these to make hand sanitising accessible for your delegates as they wait for their tickets. At the same time, you could position some around the exhibition hall in the high traffic areas.
Likewise, if you are organising a large sporting event, why not position hand sanitizer dispensing machines in and around the media centre, player’s lounge and event offices areas in prominent zones, making it accessible for all.
Whatever your event or occasion, it’s important that we all realise that COVID hasn’t simply ‘disappeared’, even though the majority of us are back living our lives as though it has. It’s always worth erring on the side of caution and putting these handwashing stations in place wherever you can – you will then be seen as a professional and responsible event organiser, who takes the safety and wellbeing of their guests seriously.
If you need to rent handwashing stations for events, don’t hesitate to browse and place your secure order online 24/7 with the expert team here at Event Hire UK. We offer both indoor hand sanitiser stations and outdoor hand sanitiser stations, catering for every requirement.
Order handwashing stations now with our team, nationwide – you won’t be disappointed!
