Mats that you press your feet against can be sanitised too, among the other precautions in place to fight the dreaded COVID-19. The Kerala State Coir Corporation has released such mats dipped in sanitiser as yet another way to contain the spread of the disease.
The Anti Covid Health Plus Mats were launched by the Minister for Finance and Coir, Thomas Isaac, in Kochi on June 15.
"Apart from the masks on your face, the sanitisers for your hands and / or gloves, we thought it’d be a good idea to sanitise your feet or the footwear that you might have set through contaminated areas. Sanitiser mats can give you additional protection,” said N Padmakumar, Managing Director at KSCC.
Anti Covid Health Plus Mats released by Kerala State Coir Corporation as yet another way to contain the spread of Covid-19. Sanitiser mats that come at a basic price of Rs 200. pic.twitter.com/vjRmRLwJVe
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The mats are dipped in a tray of sanitiser. The sanitisers are prepared according to the standards recommended by the National Coir Research & Management Institute (NCRMI) and the experts of the Sree Chitra Thirunal Institute for Medical Science & Technology.
“Through this, the chances of harmful microorganisms reaching the house through foot or footwear will be eliminated. The product will be served as a kit consisting of Coir Mat, Tray and Sanitising Solution,” says a note released by KSCC.
The mats can be used at homes and outside offices, says Padmakumar. "The sanitiser solution will have to be topped up. In offices, this will need to be done every day since there'd be many more people passing through the mats. In houses, however, where a lesser number of people are likely to come, the refilling can be done less frequently,” he says.
The basic price of a mat is Rs 200 and it will be available in different designs. The mats will be launched in the market through Coircraft, the distribution chain of the KSCC, and also through Kudumbashree. Before launching in the market, the mats are being delivered to every panchayat, municipality and related institutions. The product was delivered to 50 houses in the Asramam ward of Alappuzha municipality, on an experimental basis.