Mike Klem Gives His Perspective on the Coronavirus


As a leader in the sanitary supply and /infection control industry, it’s no wonder Sales and Marketing Manager Mike Klem, for our company, has been staying up on the trends and numbers concerning the coronavirus. You might have heard Mike on a local radio station giving his opinions on infection control. If you haven’t, don’t worry about it; because this blog post will provide you with his insights and tips.

TIP #1 – Wear a Mask

While Mike said that the N95 masks are really for healthcare professionals, he also believes that you should be wearing a mask if you are sick and symptomatic. The masks are there to protect those who aren’t sick from being exposed to the virus. Exposure can happen from sneezing and coughing. With the recent CDC updates, you should wear a mask in public, if you feel more comfortable doing so.

TIP #2 – Wash Your Hands

Washing your hands may seem like a commonsense rule, but how you wash your hands needs to be top of mind. While this video is in Spanish, Mike thinks it explains perfectly how difficult it is to wash your hands.

TIP #3 – Buy Products with a Hospital Rating

With more than 100 years in the industry, we have been around for a long time; so, we’ve seen a lot when it comes to infection control. The reason why Mike is so involved in the Coronavirus is because we provide EPA registered disinfectants to fight the virus. We supply products for institutional facilities, such as hospitals and nursing homes.

When using disinfectants, it is important to always follow the directions on the label. Check the EPA website if you have a question or concern about the kill claims of the product you are using (the EPA registration number is on the product’s label).

Currently, there is not a kill claim for COVID-19. So, as of right now, we are looking for kill claims for human coronavirus or “emerging pathogen” claims. Another “old school of thought” is TB rated products because those products tend to be aggressive and kill nearly everything. Remember, most viruses are relatively easy to kill outside the body, and this includes the coronavirus.


TIP #4 – Be Ready for Change

The virus could potentially go longer than expected. Therefore, we need to be ready for change. The government will eventually want to get people back to work, but social distancing will be ever evolving. We could expect to see these changes:

  • A possible modification in industry supply chain. For example, will our customers go back to the “old ways” of buying 30 to 45 days’ worth of product versus the typical just-in-time orders?
  • Businesses explore more means for virtual communications, altering the way teams and customers collaborate.