As of August 19th, there have been more than 5.5 million cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. and just over 172,000 deaths. People compare it to the last major pandemic (the Spanish Flu) that killed around 675,000 over two years. As a novel virus, people do not have immunities built up and scientists are still learning new things about COVID-19.
A few things are effective at stopping the spread. Social distancing is important. Wearing a mask doesn’t ensure your safety, but it’s a measure at lowering the risk of picking it up from someone else or spreading it to others if you’re asymptomatic. Plastic divider curtains and shields on easy to hang track systems between cashiers and customers, students and teachers or other students, patients and other patients/visitors, waitstaff and diners, etc., are all designed to help slow the spread. If your company, open space, or classroom hasn’t considered plastic divider curtains, it’s time to take a closer look at them.
How Do Clear PVC Divider Curtains Help During the Pandemic?
How can a clear PVC divider curtain help your company, business, or public area better contain the spread of the virus? Some of the recommendations regarding the coronavirus pandemic have been to wear masks in public, wash hands often and for 20 seconds, and keep at least six feet apart. In some settings, it’s hard to maintain six feet of space.
That’s why you should consider PVC curtains. They put up a see-through wall that protects when you can’t be at least six feet from others. Here are some of the best places to use them.
- School Classrooms
- Manufacturing Lines
- Restaurants and Bars
- Shops/Retail/Farmers’ Markets
- Banks
- Offices
- Health Clinics
School Classrooms
One way to protect students is by putting up barricades around each desk. Students won’t be able to sit together at large tables anymore. Hanging or installing clear PVC curtains around desks is one way to make sure students are sitting together without spreading the virus. They can see and hear each other, but the spray from a sneeze or cough is contained in that one student’s area.
You can also use clear PVC curtains to create time out areas for students who are having a difficult day, to create a quiet area for a student to read quietly after finishing classwork, or to separate computer stations.
Elementary, middle, high school, and colleges are all becoming creative when it comes to installing these curtains. Some are putting in tracks from ceilings. Others are attaching wooden frames to each side of a desk that the PVC tarp spreads over and is taped or tied into place. You may have seen pictures of round shower curtain rail systems being placed over desks and tables to create a safe space.
Manufacturing Lines
In some plants, manufacturing lines are set well apart from each other. Workers are always spaced at least six feet apart. What if they’re not? What if you have workers sharing an aisle with backs to each other. Place clear PVC curtains between the workers to create a waterproof wall that prevents the spread of the virus.
Clear PVC curtains can be hung from ceilings to block off areas and create safe spaces for your workers. You can get them in lengths of 20 feet, which is good for many factories. If you need custom sizes, that’s possible with Chicago Canvas & Supply.
Restaurants and Bars
Restaurants and bars in many areas are under orders to place tables at least six feet apart and keep the number of diners/patrons to a minimum. One creative way to protect them is by hanging clear PVC curtains from a table umbrella. It traps any body fluids from talking, eating, sneezing, or coughing to that specific table, which makes it safer for everyone else.
Bars can help keep staff safe by placing a PVC curtain between the person at the cash register and any patrons who pay at the bar. Some bars are using portable POS systems that get brought to the table, but if that’s not the case, a barrier at the cash register is important.
Shops/Retail/Farmer’s Markets
Placing a barrier of some form between your store workers who are at registers and shoppers is important. Many stores have put up metal or PVC pipe frames between the cashier and the keypad for card transactions. Stores may not currently accept cash to further limit how the virus may be transmitted.
You also want to add barriers between workers in areas like the deli, butcher, bakery, and seafood counter. Workers at farmers’ markets want to put up barriers around the back and side of their canopy to limit exposure from nearby farmers and workers. It needs to provide enough of a barrier so that workers can talk to customers without being exposed to saliva droplets that naturally spray out while talking.
Banks
At first, banks in several areas were closed to transactions other than the drive-up window or ATMs. In areas that took those measures, teller windows reopened later, but social distancing and frequent sterilization of pens and surfaces are often required.
Use PVC curtains between tellers and customers. Customers need to stand back from the counter, but you gain an extra layer of protection between those at the counter and customers who come in for a variety of transactions.
Offices
In a big open call center or office, add more protection between desks by hanging clear PVC curtains. While workers are in the office together, the plastic curtains provide a level of protection as workers talk on the phone with clients. It also allows workers to talk to each other without risking the spread of the virus throughout the office.
Health Clinics
Finally, if you have a makeshift health clinic that’s set up to help with patient testing or hospital overflow, clear PVC tarps help create health cubicles in large settings like exposition centers, gymnasiums, or outdoor tents. The clear curtains allow nurses and doctors to visually check on patients all day without having to move from a centralized station.
Why Choose Clear PVC Tarps?
Clear PVC tarps allow light to pass and help eliminate the need for extra lighting in an area that’s sealed off. The tarps are see-through, so you can see the person on the other side, but spray from the nose and mouth can’t pass through the waterproof tarp. When it comes to protecting your students, clients, patrons, family, and workers, you won’t find a better tarp.
With clear PVC curtains, you have 18-ounce tarps that are designed for heavy use and don’t rip and tear easily. They come in nine sizes with the largest measuring around 9 by 12 feet. There’s a 2-inch hem that has grommets placed about two feet apart. If you need a custom size, that’s also an option.
Even with tarps in place to create divider curtains, make sure you’re sterilizing surfaces often and wiping down the curtain. That is a benefit to PVC, it wipes easily with a disinfecting wipe or disinfecting spray and a paper towel.
Everyone is facing unique challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. If clear PVC divider curtains help keep you, your family, your students, your customers, or your employees safer, invest in them. Chicago Canvas is happy to help you with custom sizes or applications to make sure you have the right system in place to protect those who matter the most. Give us a call or reach us on live chat to get answers to your questions or make sure you’re ordering exactly what you need.