sneeze guard | Sneeze Guards – The Unlikely Hero of the Pandemic

Sneeze guards are protective barriers made of plexiglass or acrylic. They help prevent the spread of pathogens inside closed spaces. In the past, these guards were mostly used inside restaurants or self-serving buffets. They ensured that food items aren’t exposed to pathogens from the breathing of workers or customers.

Ever since the COVID19 pandemic rocked the world, sneeze guards have become essential items in pretty much all industries. Back in December 2019, the CDC advised business owners to use these guards to protect their customers and employees. Since then, these guards have become critical tools in the fight against the COVID19 pandemic.

How and Why Sneeze Guards Work

Even in the post-COVID19 world, business owners must take all necessary precautions to make their workspaces as safe as possible. When employees interact with customers in closed business settings – the risk of transmission is ever-present. Even if both parties are wearing gloves and masks, they can still potentially infect each other.

If we place a sneeze guard between them, there’s absolutely zero risk of virus transmission. These guards are transparent so both parties can still communicate efficiently. After each customer interaction, employees can disinfect their guards and reuse them again. Most importantly, these guards prevent droplets from coughs/sneezes from infecting people.

The average cough travels 50 mph, expelling over 2000 droplets.
The average sneeze travels 100 mph, expelling over 100,000 droplets.
Both coughs and sneezes may contain contagious pathogens (apart from the COVID19) virus.

Even touching a surface that contains one of these droplets can make you fall ill. With plexiglass or acrylic barriers, everyone inside the workspace receives maximum protection from these infected droplets. The plexiglass or acrylic barriers catch all droplets before they’re transmitted to the other person.

Here’s how different businesses used these protective barriers during the COVID19 pandemic –

Banks: Bank managers were advised by health officials to install plexiglass barriers at every checkout counter. Customers could interact freely with the bank operators through these transparent barriers.
Retail Stores: Retail storeowners employed a similar tactic. They, too, placed sneeze guards at checkouts to ensure customers get to pay for their goods without any safety risks. Employees at these stores were advised to only contact customers through these transparent barriers.
Service Centers: At service centers, employees have to interact with customers on a day to day basis. That’s why the people managing such service centers (e.g., car repair shops, cleaning companies, etc.) had to install sneeze barriers. They installed the barriers near registers to ensure workers could accept the customers’ payments without making physical contact. Even today, several service centers use these guards to ensure their workers assist and communicate with customers with limited exposure.

Does My Business Need Sneeze Guards?

Sneeze guards are durable, cost-effective items that can make your workspaces a million times safer. Plus, they’re reusable, so their ROI is amazing. Even in the post-pandemic world, your workers and employees deserve total safety. With top-quality sneeze guards, you can give them this safety very easily and cost-effectively.