COVID-19 is spreading at an alarming rate and is a health threat to anyone across the globe.
The international response to the virus has been impressive: Flight restrictions, medical team dispatches, containment, and quarantine … and yet new cases keep being reported across the world everyday.
Why is this the case, and how can you do your bit to prevent the spread of the disease? Let’s look into it…
The best way to protect yourself … is to take care of your hygiene.
COVID-19 might be getting all of the attention right now, but the truth is that you should always be mindful of some basic hygiene measures to protect yourself from infectious diseases.
We’ve included a shortlist of them here as a reminder:
1. Wash your hands properly
Washing your hands is one of the best ways to protect yourself from an infectious disease. So make sure you do it properly and as often as possible. If you’re out and about and have no water or soap available to wash your hands, you can always use hand sanitisers or hand wipes.
2. Dry your hands properly
Many people don’t realise that drying your hands well is as important as washing them properly. The reason for this is that damp hands attract bacteria and provide an ideal breeding ground for them.
If you’re an office manager and are only offering a towel for your employees to dry their hands, you will want to invest in a hand towel or air dryers (preferably a no touch option) to limit the risk of infection to your staff.
3. Clean and disinfect surfaces and your phone
Make sure you regularly clean surfaces you use often (like your desk, car hand wheel, kitchen tops) as COVID-19 can live on surfaces for up to 9 days. Wipe your surfaces with a disinfectant such as hand and surface wipes and remember to do the same on the items you use every day, such as your mobile phone and laptop.
4. Create a safe environment within your school or office
Handwashing is one of the best ways of protecting yourself from COVID-19 and other such infectious diseases. But it’s very hard to monitor the behaviour of everyone going through an office, warehouse or school to make sure they respect basic hygiene principles.
One way to solve this issue is to offer anyone entering your premises no excuse to not wash their hands.
One way of doing this is by offering hand-sanitising dispensers throughout your premises. These serve as a constant reminder to any who walk past them to keep their hands clean and are an easy-to-use way to protect themselves and others.
Remember that common sense and basic hygiene can help you stay safe from COVID-19 and limit the chances of the people you love falling ill. Stay safe during this outbreak and remember … keep your hands clean!!