Just a few months ago we could never have imagined the situation we are currently experiencing. Confined to our homes, concerned about our health and that of those around us, witnessing dramatic numbers of deaths, with economic activity flatlining and a dense bank of clouds of uncertainty on the horizon.
But it would also have been unthinkable until recently that we would see a rebirth of collective solidarity, shown at its best in the heartfelt daily applause from balconies for health workers and other professionals fighting on the front line against the invisible enemy for everybody's sake.
Recognition is due not only to them. There is also a constellation of philanthropists who have emerged spontaneously to make life a little easier for others amid the pandemic. From neighbourhood networks to help older people and cook for them, landlords suspending rent collection, doctors volunteering their help, artists relieving quarantine by putting their work on the net and educators sharing resources to keep the young busy to video calls to accompany those who feel the loneliest.
This wave of solidarity is not limited to a few people. Faced with this sudden change in the rules of the game, many companies have also realised that at this critical time for our society they must place the common good before the balance sheet. And many initiatives have been taken in this respect.
Many of them have a special ally: technology. While it was playing an essential part in many businesses before, the arrival of COVID-19 has further highlighted its relevance in providing imaginative solutions to the new problems we face. For example, the Marketplaces have shown themselves to be a very useful tool at this time because of their ability to match needs with responses and organise them efficiently.
One example of this corporate solidarity replying on a strong technology component is the joint initiative set up recently by the Dominion Smart House and Famaex platforms. The global multi-service concern has joined forces with the startup to offer a solution for the most disadvantaged groups in the form of disinfection of areas and premises.
The development of the pandemic has awoken solidarity and creativity on the part of both companies to diversify and enrich their portfolio of services through the addition of specific COVID-19 disinfection services. And as well as combining their technological capacities, they are to devote the profits from each of these jobs to free disinfection of food distribution centres and those supporting people in vulnerable circumstances in collaboration with the Red Cross.
The specialist teams carrying out disinfection of the sites in question will be using advanced ozone, nebulisation and thermonebulisation techniques depending on the type of place in question and the activities normally carried on there. The disinfection processes take between 1 and 3 hours for premises of up to 500 square metres, which must be left empty for up to 3 hours. Following disinfection treatment, the space is hygienised and completely virus-free, so that users simply have to adapt their habits to the protocols recommended by the health authorities.
Individuals, blocks or SMEs wishing to support this initiative just have to commission its services through the website www.desinfeccionsolidaria.es. After handling the job, Dominion Smart House and Famaex will donate their profits to cover the cost of disinfecting the premises selected together with the Red Cross.
Both Dominion Smart House and Famaex are determined to carry on their solidarity initiative beyond the state of alarm, until coronavirus is finally eradicated. This is a time for us to join forces and help each other. The final goal is worth it. As the Nobel peace prize winner Christian Lange said, solidarity is the most important means for a species to survive.
