Business drivers have been advised to wear gloves when using fuel pumps, due to the rapid spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus…

Wear Gloves When Fuelling Up 

Business drivers, including those in company vehicles and vans, are being urged to wear gloves when using fuel pumps. This is to ensure that they’re at a lower risk of being exposed to the omicron variant of the coronavirus when visiting petrol stations. The advice has been issued by GripHero, a fuel court-specific PPE provider. The company has recently been awarded an award from the Association for Petroleum and Explosives Administration (APEA); having decided to provide its glove dispensers for free at petrol stations across the world. 

According to the business, wearing gloves at petrol stations can significantly reduce the speed of omicron’s transmission speed. Previous research has suggested that fuel courts are high-risk areas for transmission. GripHero’s decision to provide 50,000 free glove dispenses has ensured that 60 million drivers, across five continents, will have extra protection. 

‘Not a Light Touch’ 

Oli Yeo, managing director at Grip Hero, commented on the importance of wearing gloves. He said, “the Omicron Covid variant is causing huge concern among governments, scientists and health bodies. A return to compulsory face masks in shops and schools, as well as specific travel restrictions, shows the level of concern about the new Omicron variant’s transmissibility; its risk to health, and its potential to evade current vaccine protection. That needs to be taken seriously, especially when you consider that the first and least transmissible strain of Covid-19 was statistically shown to have contaminated the hands of over 50,000 UK drivers every day”.

He continued, “what’s vital for the public to understand, is that holding a fuel nozzle handle is not a light touch. Unlike pressing the buttons on a pay pad, it’s a firm grip for several minutes. During that time the palm and fingers come into direct contact with a surface that has been touched by hundreds of other users, many of whom could have Covid-19”.

For fleets, then, providing their drivers with gloves and explaining the risks of transmission at fuel courts is both a matter of duty of care and ensuring that drivers aren’t out of action for lengthy periods of time. 

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