How Covid-19 Brings Attention Back To Hand Washing
The sudden and unexpected outbreak of the Coronavirus has unquestionably brought the attention back to the high importance of washing the hands correctly several times a day in order to prevent the transmission of many diseases, and in an attempt to prevent any possible COVID-19 infection. Countries around the globe are currently encouraging, feverishly urging their citizens to stick to the most hygienic habits such as washing the hands and avoiding crowded public places in order to hopefully decrease the number of people infected with the novel Coronavirus.
The global response to the current crisis has been divided into two categories; the first response revolves around the importance and vitality of washing the hands, stepping away from condensed places, infected cases and of course avoiding / cancelling public gatherings; and the second response has been recently more interested in providing a vaccine for COVID-19 as soon as possible.
Italy, Spain and the US are now considered to be the top countries in the middle of the crisis; and whilst Italy has maintained a strict lockdown in the whole country - suspending studies, flights and other public activities, Chinese officials said that they are working on a possibly effective vaccine that could be available next month. Other countries have already started following similar precautionary measures such as locking down schools and colleges, suspending flights and advising people to wash their hands properly since it's their first defense line against COVID-19. The UK government is also amongst others trying to persuade its citizens to follow more hygienic habits and rules such as washing the hands a couple of times a day and avoiding touching public surfaces such as water faucets and door knobs.
Furthermore, the most popular social media outlets and platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube, are currently filled with hand-washing tutorials, memes and posts created to show people that they must wash their hands - with soap and water - for more than 20 seconds to avoid possible infection. In addition, catchy songs and lyrics have been spread through the internet in the past few weeks to further emphasize that hand washing is a meticulous and healthy process that can 100% save your life from the obnoxious virus.
The most important element of the recent posts on social media and official websites is showing people the parts of the hand they might be unconsciously missing such as the thumbs, the fingertips and the under the fingernails. Other health experts however recommend that you extend the time of washing your hands up to 30 seconds to ensure the erasure of germs and bacteria.
