What Transport For London are doing to keep Londoners safe

Yesterday, I took the tube for the first time since mid March. It was 6:50 pm and practically empty; a massive contradiction to every memory I have of being on the tube. Besides the travellers clad in face masks and two meter signs everywhere, it felt surprisingly normal. There were TFL signs quoting:

We also use an antiviral spray that prevents re-contamination for up to 30 days

I immediately found this interesting. That would’ve been a pretty cool spray to use in the molecular virology lab I used to work in. But really … 30 days?! What is this magical substance sprayed around and how does it work? In my mind I saw a super sticky coating, whipping out alien-like tendrils to engulf any viruses that dared to the land on a surface. Obviously not the case.

A quick search shows that there are many of these “antiviral sprays” claiming to be astonishingly long lasting, yet it would also appear that a lot of these are not scientifically tested. There are a few though that have been in development for many years and show some promising results. In the county of Tyne and Wear, they are using an antiviral spray on public transport developed by Zoono. Zoono Z71 microbial shield can be wiped or sprayed on surfaces, and as it dries, binds ‘microscopic…