All healthcare providers, including (but not limited to) hospitals, ambulatory/surgical centers, long-term care facilities, physician practices, clinics, and dentistry offices, should have an adequate supply of antimicrobial products effective against SARS-CoV-2. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Interim Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations for Healthcare Personnel During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic states:
Routine cleaning and disinfection procedures (e.g., using cleaners and water to pre-clean surfaces prior to applying an EPA-registered, hospital-grade disinfectant to frequently touched surfaces or objects for appropriate contact times as indicated on the product's label) are appropriate for SARS-CoV-2 in healthcare settings, including those patient-care areas in which AGPs [aerosol-generating procedures] are performed. Refer to List N on the EPA website for EPA-registered disinfectants that kill SARS-CoV-2; the disinfectant selected should also be appropriate for other pathogens of concern at the facility (e.g., a difficile sporicidal agent is recommended to disinfect the rooms of patients with C. [Clostridioides] difficile infection).
In March 2020, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published List N: Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2. The latest update can be found in EPA's List N Tool: COVID-19 Disinfectants. Manufacturers of reusable, noncritical devices and equipment may recommend the use of certain generic disinfectants (e.g., sodium hypochlorite) at certain concentrations. But List N does not specify disinfectant concentrations.
To help you more easily determine whether any products on the list match manufacturer disinfectant recommendations, we've created a table that includes the disinfectant contact times and use settings from List N, plus an additional column listing each product's disinfectant concentration. To compile this information, we searched EPA product registrations, amendments, master labels, and other applications. As EPA continues to update the List N Tool, we will update our table as needed.
