Mika Manninen, head of Finnish Halsa Foods and resident of the USA, was on a business trip for almost 75% of 2020

At a time when almost the entire planet was in quarantine and severe lockdowns due to coronavirus, Mika Manninen was on his way for business travel during 75% of 2020.

The CEO and co-founder of the Finnish yoghurt company Halsa Foods, based in Palm Beach, Florida, has flown 33 times (and abroad) and spent 160 nights in city hotels such as Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Seattle, London and Helsinki. From the beginning of March, Manninen spent only 9 days at home.

According to CNBC, he is the only person in his company who travels and despite the volume and frequency of his travels, he did not stick to COVID 19 as, as he says, he strictly follows the security measures and the quarantine rules, while he also enters a 14-day quarantine in hotels when required.

The following is the strict safety routine that follows in his case:

In the hotel

When checking in the room, wipe each surface with a tissue. Handles, switches, remote control, telephone. If he stays several nights he leaves the room service to enter only every 4th days and then cleans the room again.

At the airport

He is less worried that he will get stuck inside the plane, but the airport, as he says, “is another story”.

When he enters the airport he wears several layers of disposable gloves and takes them off one by one, for example when he comes out of the escalators, when he checks in, when he touches a touch screen, etc. As he says, he had never before realized how many surfaces we touch.

Keeps distance, sits alone in corner seats. He does not buy anything. If he buys water, he cleans the bottle with antiseptic wipes.

He does not use his mobile application as a ticket. He takes the paper ticket because hundreds of passengers are scanning their cell phones and can lean on the glass, he says.

Inside the plane

According to the WHO new recommendations, In the cabins, the air is completely refreshed from 20 to 30 times per hour and modern aircraft recycle 50% of the cabin air through high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) that trap bacteria, fungi and viruses.

That’s why Manninen is more concerned about surfaces than air. That’s why he cleans his seat, the belt, the headboard of the seat, the curtains on the windows, the switches for the lights.

He changes his mask every four hours, as he says it also gives him a sense of freshness. He always has extra masks with him, because once he forgot and went to drink water wearing it, so he had to change it.

In rented cars

Manninen has rented a car 22 times this year. He spends 10 minutes before going inside to clean them. Disinfects every surface, handlebar, belt, keys, seat adjustment lever, gearbox with wipes. When he comes out of it, he wears gloves and when he comes in he takes them off. This keeps all germs out of the car.

A routine that lasts for years

Manninen has been developing this routine for a decade to avoid the common flu, which he gets stuck 5 times a year due to his frequent travels. The habit of the mask and gloves, however, is something new.

His father, who lives in Scandinavia and Manninen describes him as a “super-smart healthy guy”, refuses to see him even behind a window, “because he comes from the US that has not taken the virus seriously”.

Manninen has been nicknamed “El Diablo Covid” by many of his colleagues and is often told not to approach them, making him feel “poisonous” at times.