10 months in, COVID-19 continues to sweep economic devastation and force limited healthcare resources under greater strain across European and American countries. The effects of the first lockdown back in March are still in play however the UK has been into a second national lockdown. The university campuses are facing a challenge themselves at the heart of the battle. By D Morris
Since September, London based sanitiser supplier Peppy Group has donated over 10,000 bottles of sanitiser to UK University students. This has been vital in enabling them to combat the dramatic rise in the number of Covid infections.
So far students from universities included Imperial College, the University of St Andrews, Brunel University, the University of West London, and the University of Portsmouth have benefited from Peppy Group’s donations. The manufacturers are also in ongoing talks with other universities to arrange further donations.
The Peppy Group works in supporting education, charity and key worker workplaces. To date, they have made deliveries to more than 800 UK schools – state and private, primary and secondary – as well as councils and care homes, charities, sports groups and key workers. Jane Geary, director of partnerships at Peppy Group (UK), advised universities to keep a close eye on their students.
“University settings are super spreader environments. Our advice would be for the universities to include the students in pro-active cleaning regimes,” Geary said. “In primary schools and secondary schools, teachers keep an eye on the pupils and make sure they are following guidelines. Our impression is that university students are left to their own devices.”
The group noticed it is impossible to put a sanitising station in every corner of a major campus and therefore it should be imperative that every student has a personal sanitiser.
“This is an emergency so we wish to make a contribution to the Covid struggle. Initially, we are happy to donate sanitisers, and should a school or university wish to order more, we offer a very competitive rate.”
The donation from Peppy’s products to schools and universities are eco-friendly, plant-based and vegan, and quality checked with 10 EU standards.
Instead of using industrial alcohol, PeppyPure is brewed from sugar cane, so it is kinder on the skin and is ideal for frequent use.
Michaela Community School Headmistress Katharine Birbalsingh, who has just been made a CBE for services to education, praised the PeppyPure sanitisers for being “the perfect size for a blazer pocket or school bag.”
Peppy Group has been vocal about the quality and effectiveness of sanitisers on the market after studies found some were below the standard required to kill bacteria safely.
Ms Geary added: “In the USA, hand sanitisers have to be regulated for content. Not so here in the UK.
“Here they are generally effective but they’re not always completely safe or pleasant to use.
“Some even contain harmful ingredients such as industrialised alcohol methanol, and they leave a sticky residue that over time dries out the skin and even possible chronic poisoning.
“It’s important to Peppy that we strive to be the best, whether it’s using top quality ingredients or supporting our community when it needs us most.”
To find out more stories about the PeppyPure’s sanitiser please visit: peppygroup.com