To protect yourself and prevent the spread of COVID-19, you should:
Also view our information on personal protective equipment (PPE) for the health workforce.
Cleaning in the workplace
Communal areas for staff and the public
Routinely clean surfaces in these areas.
These areas include staff dining rooms, cafes, retail outlets, and staff meeting rooms.
Health care settings
In patient areas, including consulting rooms:
- clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces between each episode of patient care
- take special care with surfaces that patients have touched directly or that have been exposed to respiratory droplets
- take the 5 moments for hand hygiene approach
For inpatient care:
- routinely clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces at least daily
- clean and disinfect more often in high intensity or high traffic areas, such as ICU or outpatient areas
- clean and disinfect equipment after each use
- clean and disinfect surfaces that have been exposed to respiratory droplets between episode of patient care
If an area is very contaminated, you may need to conduct a terminal clean.
Patient transport vehicles
Set the air conditioning to fresh air. Do not recirculate air in the vehicle. Routinely clean the surfaces.
Routine cleaning
Frequently touched surfaces
Frequently touched surfaces include door handles, bedrails, tabletops and light switches.
Clean these surfaces frequently (at least daily) or when visibly dirty. Use detergent solution or combined detergent and disinfectant solution or wipes. Follow the instructions on the label.
Minimally touched surfaces
Minimally touched surfaces include floors, ceilings, walls, window curtains and blinds.
Clean these surfaces when visibly dusty or dirty and straight after any spills. Use:
- detergent solution or wipes for general surfaces and non-patient care areas
- detergent solution to damp mop instead of dry mopping
You should also:
- regularly change window curtains
- regularly clean sinks and basins
Follow the instructions on the label when using cleaning products.
Disinfecting
Disinfect surfaces after cleaning. Disinfectant does not work as well on soiled or dirty surfaces.
Use a ready-made disinfectant that claims to kill viruses, or prepare a chlorine-based (bleach) disinfectant. Always follow the instructions on the label.
Bleach solutions
While bleach (chlorine) solutions are effective, handling bleach can be dangerous. Consider using a safer alternative if possible.
If you decide to use bleach solution:
- follow the instructions on the label
- work in a well-ventilated area
- do not use it with other products such as toilet bowl cleaners, acids (including vinegar) or anything containing ammonia
- wear gloves when handling or preparing the solution
- use protective eye wear to protect against splashes
- make up the solution daily
- use it mainly on hard, non-porous surfaces — it can damage textiles and metals
- use a disposable paper towel or cloth to wipe the surface with the bleach solution
For full instructions, read our COVID-19 environmental cleaning and disinfection principles fact sheet.
For more information about disinfectants and bleach, read:
Protect yourself when cleaning or disinfecting
To minimise the risk of getting coronavirus, you should:
- practise good hygiene
- wear disposable impermeable gloves, a surgical mask, and eye protection or a face shield
- wash hands with water and soap (use alcohol-based hand sanitiser if soap is not available) before and after wearing protective gear
- dispose of gloves and masks in a leak-proof plastic bag
If you can see respiratory secretions or other bodily fluid on surfaces, wear a full-length disposable gown as well.
If a confirmed case or a person in isolation is in a room you need to clean, ask them to put on a surgical mask.
Get advice from your work health and safety representative about wearing protective gear correctly. View our information on PPE for the health workforce.
Terminal cleaning
Terminal cleaning is a procedure to decontaminate an area after discharge or transfer of a patient with an infectious disease. Terminal cleaning includes thorough cleaning and disinfection.
To carry out terminal cleaning:
- remove medical equipment and items used by the patient
- wear PPE — a surgical mask, protective eyewear, gloves and a gown
- change bed screens and curtains, including disposable curtains or screens, that are soiled or contaminated
- damp dust all surfaces, furniture and fittings
- clean windows, sills and frames
- clean all surfaces of bed and mattress
- mop the floor
- remove PPE and perform hand hygiene
- clean all cleaning equipment and return it to the cleaners’ room or storage area
- discard any waste
- perform hand hygiene
You can use either of the following approaches:
- 2-step clean: clean with detergent and then disinfect
- 2-in-1 clean: clean with a combined detergent and disinfectant
For the 2-step clean, use either:
- Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)-listed hospital-grade disinfectant that acts against viruses
- chlorine-based product such as sodium hypochlorite
For the 2-in-1 clean, use either:
- combined detergent and TGA-listed hospital-grade disinfectant that acts against viruses
- combined detergent and chlorine-based product such as sodium hypochlorite (wipe or solution)
Related information
Staying informed
To stay up to date on COVID-19:
You can also join our WhatsApp channel or use our COVID-19 app.
Resources
Online training
A 30-minute online module — COVID-19 infection control training — is available for care workers across all health care settings.
This training is hosted on an external site, provided by our COVID-19 training partner Aspen Medical.
Register now
Publications and fact sheets
See our resources for health professionals on hygiene and cleaning.
Webinars
View our webinars on the COVID-19 response for the health and aged care sector.
•Standard precautions are the work practices required to achieve a basic level of infection prevention and control.
•Standard precautions are the minimum infection prevention and control practices that must be used at all times for all patients in all situations.
•Transmission-based precautions are used when standard precautions alone are not sufficient to prevent the spread of an infectious agent.
•Transmission-based precautions are based upon the mode of transmission of the infectious agent.
Infection prevention and control uses a risk management approach to minimise or prevent the transmission of infection. The two-tiered approach of standard and transmission-based precautions provides a high level of protection to patients, healthcare workers and other people in healthcare settings.
For further information regarding infection prevention and control practices in the healthcare setting see the National Health and Medical Research (NHMRC) Australian guidelines for the prevention and control of infection in healthcare (2010) .
The use of standard precautions is also applicable to and essential for many non-health care settings, such as personal care and body art industries. For further information regarding infection prevention and control guidelines for these industries see the department's Health guidelines for personal care and body art industries.
Standard precautions
All people potentially harbour infectious microorganisms. As such, it must be assumed that all blood and body fluids/substances are potentially infectious. Standard precautions are the work practices required to achieve a basic level of infection prevention and control. The use of standard precautions aims to minimise, and where possible, eliminate the risk of transmission of infection, particularly those caused by blood borne viruses.
Standard precautions apply to all patients regardless of their diagnosis or presumed infection status. Standard precautions must be used in the handling of:
- blood (including dried blood)
- all other body fluids/substances (except sweat), regardless of whether they contain visible blood
- non-intact skin
- mucous membranes.
Standard precautions consist of the following practices:
- hand hygiene before and after all patient contact
- the use of personal protective equipment, which may include gloves, impermeable gowns, plastic aprons, masks, face shields and eye protection
- the safe use and disposal of sharps
- the use of aseptic "non-touch" technique for all invasive procedures, including appropriate use of skin disinfectants
- reprocessing of reusable instruments and equipment
- routine environmental cleaning
- waste management
- respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette
- appropriate handling of linen.
Standard precautions are the minimum infection prevention and control practices that must be used at all times for all patients in all situations.
Hand hygiene
Hand hygiene is considered one of the most important infection control measures for reducing the spread of infection. Hand hygiene is a general term that refers to any action of hand cleansing, such as handwashing or handrubbing.
Microorganisms are either present on hands most of the time (resident flora) or acquired during healthcare activities (transient flora). The aim of hand hygiene is to reduce the number of microorganisms on your hands, particularly transient flora which may present the greater risk for infection transmission.
Handwashing: Hands should be washed with soap and water when visibly soiled and after using the toilet.
Handrubbing: Handrubbing with an alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR) is the preferred method for hand cleansing in the healthcare setting when hands are not visibly soiled. ABHRs are more effective against most bacteria and many viruses than either medicated or non-medicated soaps. ABHRs are also less drying on hands than washing hands with soap and water, and consequently cause less irritation to the skin. ABHRs should be applied to dry hands.
The 5 Moments for hand hygiene, or times when hand hygiene should be attended to, was developed by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The 5 moments are:
- before touching a client
- before performing a procedure
- after a procedure or exposure to body fluids/substances
- after touching a client
- after touching the environment around a client.
See Hand Hygiene Australia for more information on hand hygiene and for ‘How to handwash’ and ‘How to handrub’ posters.
Personal protective equipment (PPE)
PPE protects the healthcare worker from exposure to blood and body fluids/substances. PPE that complies with relevant Australian Standards should be readily available and accessible in all health services.
Gloves
- The use of gloves should not be considered an alternative to performing hand hygiene. Hand hygiene is required before putting on gloves and immediately after removal.
- Wear gloves (single-use non-sterile) when there is the potential for contact with blood, body fluids/substances, mucous membranes or non-intact skin.
- Sterile gloves are only required for certain invasive procedures, otherwise non-sterile gloves may be used if a aseptic non-touch technique is used.
- Change gloves between tasks and procedures on the same patient. Gloves should be removed immediately after a procedure and hand hygiene performed so as to avoid contaminating the environment, other
- patients or other sites on the same patient.
- Gloves used for healthcare activities are to be single-use only. ABHR should not be used on gloves to decontaminate them, nor should gloves be washed with soap and water and continued to be used.
Gowns and aprons
- Wear an apron or gown to protect skin and prevent soiling of clothing during procedures and patient care activities that are likely to generate splashing or sprays of blood, body fluids, secretions or excretions, or cause soiling of clothing.
- Select a gown or apron (i.e., long or short sleeves) that is appropriate for the activity and the amount of fluid likely to be encountered. If an apron is used, staff should ensure they are “bare-below-the-elbows”.
- Remove the used gown as promptly as possible and roll it up carefully and discard appropriately.
- Perform hand hygiene immediately after removal.
Masks, eye protection, face shields
- Wear a mask and eye protection, or a face shield to protect mucous membranes of the eyes, nose and mouth during procedures, patient-care activities and cleaning procedures that are likely to generate splashes or sprays of blood, body fluids, secretions and excretions.
- Remove the mask by holding the ties only and dispose of the mask into a waste bin.
- Perform hand hygiene immediately after removal.
Environmental control
- Ensure that the health service has adequate procedures for the routine care, cleaning and disinfection of environmental surfaces, beds, bedrails, bedside equipment and other frequently touched surfaces, and that these procedures are being followed. See also Cleaning and waste disposal for further information.
Transmission-based precautions
Transmission-based precautions (TBPs) are used in addition to standard precautions when standard precautions alone may be insufficient to prevent transmission of infection. TBPs are used for patients known or suspected to be infected or colonised with epidemiologically important or highly transmissible pathogens that can transmit or cause infection.TBPs are not required for patients with bloodborne viruses, such as HIV, hepatitis B virus or hepatitis C virus.
The type of TBPs applied is based upon the mode of transmission of the pathogen. For diseases that have multiple routes of transmission, more than one TBP category is applied. The following are the routes of transmission.
- airborne transmission, e.g. pulmonary tuberculosis, chickenpox, measles
- droplet transmission, e.g. influenza, pertussis (whooping cough), rubella
- contact transmission (direct or indirect), e.g. viral gastroenteritis, Clostridium difficile, MRSA, scabies
TBPs should be tailored to the particular infectious agent involved and the mode of transmission.To minimise the exposure time of other people in office-based practices or hospital waiting rooms, people identified as at risk of transmitting droplet or airborne diseases (for example, a child with suspected chickenpox) should be attended to immediately and placed into appropriate transmission-based precautions to prevent further spread of disease.
Table 1 outlines the TBPs to be taken for infections with airborne, droplet or contact transmission.
Table 1: Transmission-based precautions required according to route of transmission
| Gloves | As per standard precautions | As per standard precautions | For all manual contact with patient, associated devices and immediate environmental surfaces |
| Impermeable apron/gown | As per standard precautions | As per standard precautions | When healthcare worker's clothing is in substantial contact with the patient, items in contact with the patient, and their immediate environment |
P2 Respirator Refer to AS/NZS 1715 for additional information | Yes | Not required | Not required |
Mask (surgical-style) Refer to AS 4381:2015 for additional information | No (P2 respirator) | Yes | As per standard precautions |
| Goggles/face shields | As per standard precautions | As per standard precautions | As per standard precautions |
| Standard single room with own ensuite | No (negative pressure ventilation required) | Yes or cohort patients with same infection Door closed | Yes or cohort patients with same infection |
| Negative pressure ventilation room | Essential | Not required | Not required |
For information on infection prevention and control precautions required for carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) see the Victorian guideline on CPE for health services (2017) or Victorian guideline on CPE for long-term residential care facilities (2017).
For information on infection prevention and control precautions for other multi-resistant organisms see the Patient-centred risk management strategy for multi-resistant organisms (2011).
For more information regarding which other infectious agents require transmission-based precautions, see the NHMRC Australian guidelines for the prevention and control of infection in healthcare (2010) .
Signage
Signage should be positioned prominently outside the room of a patient in TBPs. This is to ensure staff and visitors do not enter without appropriate PPE. Note: visitors may not always be required to wear PPE when visiting patients in TBPs. Please consult local health service policies and procedures.
Standardised TBPs signage has been developed by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care and are available in portrait style or landscape style.
If a health service uses their own signage, ensure that signage clearly notes the type of TBPs and PPE required.
Reviewed 24 October 2021