Pilot program at area-McDonald's offers to neutralize COVID-19 virus from air, surfaces
BAYTOWN, Texas - In the COVID-19 age, social distancing, wearing masks, and washing our hands is commonplace advice. As the pandemic drags-on, however, a pilot program in the Houston area is helping to add another layer of protection to demonstrate how 'normal' life might continue.
It's happening at some east-side and Baytown McDonald's restaurants, where a recent lunch-time rush was busy at the drive-thru window and dining room register. All of it, under the silent care of unobtrusive units in the ceiling, and devices perched above the touch-screen registers, bathing the air and surfaces in ultraviolet light that kills almost all incidence of COVID-19.
"All of our products operate 24/7/365, to make those rooms measurably cleaner and safer," says UV Angel's Paul Byrne.
The technology behind the Michigan-based company was developed for medical environments, to neutralize pathogens like viruses and bacteria. For COVID-19, they've extended its use into schools, retail, and office spaces.
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"The one thing you can't control is 'human error' and the air, for the most part," says Byrne, "Our systems look to improve that idea of a safer and cleaner environment."
UV Angel has been installed in four Houston-area McDonald's, along with locations in Dallas and Chicago, to demonstrate how it might perform in a fast-food environment.
Added to sanitizing efforts already in use, the combination is designed to deny COVID-19 a place to hang out.
Franchisee Matthew Kades says it was an easy sell. "My question was, 'What could I do in my locations to, possibly, augment and enhance the safety protocols," he says, "Not just for the customers that come to my locations but as much, if not more than, for my crew."
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That protection comes at a price.
Many thousands of dollars for Kades' four restaurants. It's a cost of doing business in a world that keeps showing how dangerous it can be. "This is gonna' be a long-term investment, not just against Covid, but other unforeseen dangers in the future."
If UV Angel's performance demonstrates a cleaner and safer environment, it could join a growing number of technologies that are able to offer consumers and workers peace-of-mind.