Re-opening Zoos Safely Under New Post Lock-down Conditions

Zoos across the country are reopening with careful preparations for the reintroduction of visitors. Along with stringent social distancing guidelines, the preparation for the event of COVID-19 contamination incidents within the zoo grounds is very real.

Forced closures can be costly as visitors contribute a majority of a zoos revenue. Bristol Zoological Society for instance, which drives around 70-80% of it’s income from visitors, has 10,000 animals to feed and care for at a cost of around £600,000 – £800,000 a month. In contrast, Maldon Road zoo has been closed down for 10 weeks and still faces costs of around £25,000 a day to look after its animals.

To reduce the risk of incidents, and manage the flow of visitors, stringent social distancing and regular cleaning needs to work hand-in-hand.

Why Do Zoos Need Deep Cleaning?

Barriers at entry points, restrooms, restaurants & eating places, animal enclosures, and various other high touch point areas are all at risk of contamination. Some zoos are taking precautions and opening after the allowed open date of June 15th. At the Wild Place Project visitors will have to book tickets with a specific arrival slot online, to ensure people are spread out evenly across the day, and numbers will at first be capped at 25% of normal capacity. In spite of low visitor numbers, zoos will also need to generate income through catering and retail. Jamie Christon the CEO Chester Zoo explains what the reopening will looks like: 

“All our indoor animal habitats will remain closed, as will our restaurants and cafes, but our outdoor food and drink kiosks will be open and we’ve added more outdoor picnic areas, while lots of fully trained staff will be dotted around to ensure people keep well apart.”

There are further cleaning considerations according to Jamie: “Hard surfaces, such as touchscreen computers and cash machines will be covered and out of use, and viewing windows will have one-meter standoff markings around them, again to prevent touching. Stringent deep cleaning will also be ongoing.

According to government guidance, under most circumstances, the amount of infectious virus on any contaminated surfaces is likely to have decreased significantly by 24 hours, and even more so by 48 hours. Furthermore, aerosols (tiny floating pieces of dust) can contain pieces of COVID 19 and may assist the spread. When a person coughs or sneezes, they can release anywhere between 900 and 300’000 liquid particles into the air. The particles range in sizes from microscopic (around a 1000 times smaller than a strand of hair) to the size of a grain of beach sand. A cough can cause them to travel up to 60 miles per hour. The flow of air and size of particles can determine how long they remain in the air – but airborne in a still room they remain in the air for up to 8 hours, of which up to 3 hours it remains infectious. 

If you consider the number of people entering a zoo (even at a quarter capacity and while maintaining 2 metres distance) there is little to restrict all pathways of transmission, such as inhaling of the virus by someone who sneezed or by touching infected surfaces. It’s not just the public and staff at risk, some animals with the ACE2 enzyme are vulnerable too. To mitigate risk of closure due to COVID incidents, it makes sense to conduct regular cleaning.

How Regular Deep Cleaning Can Help To Keep Your Zoo Safe

Ultra low volume (ULV) fogging  which works by compressing disinfectant through a specially designed nozzle and producing a fine mist or aerosol. The water based chemicals are very low volume (0-49 micros). For zoos, there are a wide range of indoor applications where fogging is appropriate including, walkways, indoor exhibits, shops and eating areas. 

Outdoors the virus is less prevalent. However, there are several areas that are equally susceptible including handrails, entry and exit turnstiles,  animal enclosures, food stall counters and even bins and sidewalks. Regular cleaning throughout the day and professional deep cleaning at the end of each day can help to make your zoo a safer place for staff and visiting customers.

ISO Quality Cleaning with COVID Decontamination  

With ISO 9001 you can be assured that we will improve the quality of the zoo environment while meeting health and safety obligations of OHSAS 18001 ( ISO 45001). CICS Ltd are also fully compliant with ISO 14001 and our staff are trained to be aware of environmental considerations in all the work they carry out.

By working with us your premises also benefits from our GBAC star internationally accredited decontamination cleans. With proper cleaning protocols, disinfection techniques, and work practices,  we are one of the few companies in the UK ISSA qualified to combat biohazardous and infectious agents including the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2).

How Much Does It Cost?

We always aim to offer our clients reasonable pricing with unbeatable value for money. Our pricing structure works on a call out fee with an hourly rate thereafter. If you fill out your requirements we’ll get back to you quickly with a quote. Our office staff are very approachable and happy to talk through any concerns or special requirements.