Stay at Home!! But if you are an essential worker or have to go out for an essential service then social distancing and hand hygiene are the most important weapons in the war against COVID-19.
By now you should have seen videos on how to wash your hands effectively - between your fingers, back of your hands and your finger nails but here are a few lesser known facts you should also know:
Washing hands should be the first choice over hand sanitizers.
Use liquid soap over a foaming soap and a bar soap but all can work.
Rinse a bar soap under water before use and store it so it will dry out between uses.
People usually soap their hands for 6 seconds but studies show that 20 seconds is needed for virus removal.
Drying your hands with a paper towel removes even more germs. It is also less likely to spread contamination.
Use a clean paper towel to open public bathroom doors and then immediately discard.
Hand sanitizers should have between 60% and 85% isopropyl alcohol or ethyl alcohol.
Using 100% rubbing alcohol is not preferred to an approved hand sanitizer as it does not break down proteins as well, it evaporates too quickly and breaks down the skin.
Apply enough hand sanitizer to cover between fingers, back of the hands and under the finger nails and rub it in until hands feel dry which is usually 20 seconds.