Sneeze Guards and COVID-19
With news about COVID-19 flooding your screens, a recent surge in sneeze guards may have caught your attention.
Did you know the “original” sneeze guards were patented in 1959 by restaurateur, Johnny Garneau?
Mr. Garneau was in the food industry business and had several restaurants (buffet or self-service style). If you’ve walked into any restaurant that is self-service, you will notice clear screens meant to protect the food from your bacteria or germs!
Fast forward to the 2013 Food Code, under section 3-306.11 which states that “Food on display shall be protected from contamination by the use of PACKAGING; counter, service line, or salad bar FOOD guards; display cases; or other effective means.”
Fast forward to a new decade, 2020…
We are using sneeze guards (also known as clear acrylic over the counter shields) in a whole different way.
With many essential organizations still open all around the United States, particularly medical institutions, grocery stores and pharmacies…there is a dire need to protect employees as well as customers.
The CDC is still investigating how coronavirus transmits and the social distancing rule is still relevant…however, if you are a grocery store cashier at the checkout counter, you cannot stay 6 feet away from a customer for obvious logistical reasons…so what do you do?
Below are current examples of how sneeze guards are being used:
- Many big grocery chains are installing such guards at their counters to create a barrier from someone coughing and potentially infecting their employees.
- Walmart confirmed they are placing sneeze guards
- Hospitals and clinics are adding sneeze guards particularly at the registration desks to protect their health care workers.
- Homeless shelters were recommended by the CDC to add these guards at the check-in desks.
We all need to do our part in taking on extra safety precautions to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and flatten the curve.
Plexiglass over the counter shields can stop droplets from hitting your face when someone across from you sneezes, coughs or spits when they talk.
As a local print company that has many clients that currently need us to be open during this pandemic, we needed to find our own way to keep our employees and clients safe.
At our own production facility, we created ¼ inch thick plexiglass (clear acrylic) sneeze guards. Our sneeze guard model comes pre-assembled to you when you order. We wanted to make it as convenient as possible!
If you’d like to learn more about and/or purchase our sneeze guards, click here.
We have four standard sizes. Our sneeze guards can be put next to each other on a longer counter.
However, if you would rather just have one sneeze guard of a custom size for your counter, call us at 747-888-7777 or email us at sales@axiomdesigns.com.
Watch our video if you’d like more information:
