PANORAMA CITY, Calif. – Jose Sandoval is gearing up for battle.  

“Safety first," he laughed as donned protective eyewear.

Sandoval is Plant Manager I at Ranchito Avenue Elementary School and right now, he is very busy. He has had to adjust his routine as the district takes precautions to protect students and staff from COVID-19.

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“It’s been a challenge," he said of the last few weeks, "but we’re getting it done.”

It is not that he is using different products or changing the way he cleans. He is cleaning everything more often with a special emphasis on what he calls high-touch areas.

“Anywhere the students touch," Sandoval said, "Like the doorknob when they go in and out, they’re touching that all day long. The handles in the restrooms.”

He is in the restrooms a lot. There are five student restrooms at the school and he hits each of them twice a day.

“Before we only come and tidy up the restroom," he said. "Now we have to do almost like a full cleaning of everything.”

The soap dispenser. The button to turn on the water.  Any place little hands go, Sandoval and his towels go too, swapping them out for clean ones as he moves from room to room.

“This is what they touch the most, right here," he said while wiping down a urinal.  "The lever and sometimes they like putting their hands on top of the urinals.”

The lunch routine has also changed. Sandoval used to disinfect the tables after all three periods had eaten. Now he goes between waves, he says, "to clean the table after each lunch so the students don’t catch any viruses.”

He says there was no special training to prepare the staff to combat the spread of COVID-19.  But he did receive an email with instructions.

“They just told us to ramp up everything that we’re doing already,” Sandoval said.

He thinks that is enough.  He feels confident that he and his colleagues are using the right products and the right methods to keep any potential germs from spreading and he trusts his counterparts at other schools are doing the same.  

 

“Because I have a daughter in school also," he said. "I’m hoping the plant managers do the same I’m doing here to keep it safe for them.”

As for himself, he says he is personally only a little nervous about coronavirus.  He wears gloves when he is cleaning and when he is done.

“I take them off and wash my hands with hot water and soap,” Sandoval said.

Soap. Something he recently stocked up on because with students and staff being encouraged to wash their hands well and often, soap may turn out to be the number one weapon in his arsenal.

Meanwhile, district staff continues to monitor the situation. They encourage parents who may have questions or concerns about COVID-19 to call their hotline, (213) 443-1300.

COVID-19 has been officially declared a pandemic, the World Health Organization announced Wednesday.

For the latest updates go to: coronavirus.gov