A conveyor has a belt arranged to be urged around conveyor rollers, and a belt cover formed of an endless loop of fabric material which is in frictional communication over the belt. The belt cover is formed of a polyester carcass that has a monofilament weft that is transverse to the direction of travel, and maintains alignment with the belt. The belt cover is installed to a tensile force of between 1 and 1.5 pounds/inch, corresponding to an overall elongation of approximately 0.1%, which allows frictional communication between cover and belt for load transmission without binding. The communication between the belt cover and the belt has a coefficient of friction of ˜0.50. A message is printed on the belt cover. In addition, an antimicrobial material is disposed on the belt cover, and is formed of silver nanoparticles embedded in a polyurethane film having a thickness of ˜0.5 mil.