Surface testing startup in Eugene is working to stop spread of COVID-19 nation-wide

LANE COUNTY, Ore. — A new life science startup in west Eugene is carving out a new niche for COVID-19 testing in Oregon.

The firm that calls itself Enviral Tech.

Their product fits into a pretty small box, but the impact on safety for the public during the COVID era is huge.

Environmental surface testing is the goal here of the Eugene company that launched just 3 months ago. It was early March and the core team that formed Enviral Tech looked at the rising tide of COVID-19 cases and decided they had to do something.

The startup is out to make the invisible...quite visible.

"That includes things like doorknobs, countertops, toilet handles," said Shula Jaron, the CEO of Enviral Tech.

Places at hotels, restaurants, and most importantly, senior care facilities, where the coronavirus can hide.

Jaron says this is a life-saving technology that has had striking success in four Oregon senior care centers.

"They were able to isolate that person and stop the spread throughout their communities—which we all believe saved lives," Jaron said.

"They want just that extra level, sort of confidence knowing that the spaces that they’re going to, the table they might sit at—have no covid virus," said Matt Sayre, the Director of Onward Eugene.

Places like Claim 52 Kitchen in downtown Eugene recently tested all their hard surfaces for COVID.

"I think Eugene welcomes any solutions that would reduce the negative impacts of COVID-19," Sayre said.

Jaron says Enviral Tech to date has sent test kits to 55 clients in the northwest states and states as far away as New Mexico and Nebraska.