Hygiene theater

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Hygiene theater is the practice of taking hygiene measures that are intended to give the illusion of improved safety while doing little to actually reduce any risk. During the COVID-19 pandemic, hygiene theater has often been performed by retail businesses in an effort to ameliorate concerns of potential customers, while actually doing little to mitigate the risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]

History[]

The term was coined on July 27, 2020 by Derek Thompson, a staff writer for The Atlantic, when referring to hygiene measures being taken during the COVID-19 pandemic that have done little to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and have provided a false sense of security.[1][3]

Measures taken against COVID-19 that have been referred to as hygiene theater include deep cleaning (aside from in hospitals), temperature checks, plexiglass barriers, and the spraying of disinfectants by humans and robots.[1][2][3][5] Cleaning and disinfection measures have persisted despite widespread recognition that SARS-CoV-2 rarely, if ever, spreads through surface contact.[7][8]

In the United States, many forms of hygiene theater were still in use in some establishments in June 2021.[9] Organizations such as the Kennedy Center continued to deploy temperature checks, even while acknowledging that the benefits were psychological, not medicinal.[9] Several major airlines required passengers to wear face coverings between bites and sips. New York banned the sale of alcohol to customers who did not also buy food, though this requirement was later struck down. However, amidst the general reopening of the country, the specifics of what practices were done where varied enormously, as companies updated rules and continued to adapt to customer behavior.[9]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c Thompson, Derek (2020-07-27). "Hygiene Theater Is a Huge Waste of Time". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on April 8, 2021. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Thompson, Derek (2021-02-08). "Hygiene Theater Is Still a Huge Waste of Time". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c Landsverk, Gabby (2020-10-14). "5 bogus coronavirus protection measures that are just 'hygiene theater' — and 2 things that actually do work". Insider. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
  4. ^ Palumbo, Alysha (2020-11-24). "Is Deep Cleaning Just 'Hygiene Theater' in the Age of COVID?". WBTS-CD. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Thorbecke, Catherine; Lambert, Alexandra (2020-09-20). "'Hygiene theater': Disinfecting sprays and sanitizing robots alone won't keep you safe from COVID-19". ABC News. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
  6. ^ Ives, Mike; Mandavilli, Apoorva (2020-11-19). "The Coronavirus Is Airborne Indoors. Why Are We Still Scrubbing Surfaces?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b Anthes, Emily (April 8, 2021). "Has the Era of Overzealous Cleaning Finally Come to an End? -- This week, the C.D.C. acknowledged what scientists have been saying for months: The risk of catching the coronavirus from surfaces is low". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 8, 2021.
  8. ^ Lewis, Dyani (2021-01-29). "COVID-19 rarely spreads through surfaces. So why are we still deep cleaning?". Retrieved 2021-04-10.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b c Fisher, Marc (2021-06-14). "Temp checks, digital menus and 'touchless' mustard: The maddening persistence of 'hygiene theater'". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2021-06-14.
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