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despite covid-19, people are still a little gross
some people still don't wash their hands after the bathroom, but study shows more attention on hygiene.
jul 24 2020
2 minute read
covid-19 has upped the number of people who are paying attention to personal hygiene. stock/getty
since covid-19 began, it’s safe to say that most of us are focused on expert hygiene practices. in fact, one would think that the global covid-19 pandemic — for which there is no treatment or vaccine — would have spurred us to a whole new level of cleanliness. right? well, kind of.
the independent wrote about a recent study of 2,000 adults in the u.k. found that despite a rise in the number of times people are washing and sanitizing their hands — eight times a day, compared to five times pre-covid — and the increase in the time spent soaping up — from less than 13 seconds to an average of 19 seconds — more than one in ten said they don’t wash after using the bathroom. and that includes public bathrooms.
ewww.
robert guice, international executive vice president at citron hygiene, the hygiene services company responsible for the study, said, “it’s everyone’s responsibility to stay hygienic, but it is sad to see that many are not doing this. it’s shocking to still see more than 10 per cent of the nation popping to the toilet and not washing their hands, when washing and sanitizing your hands is the easiest and simplest way to stop the spread.”
perhaps more encouraging, however, was that otherwise, cleanliness numbers were up across the board in other areas of hygiene since the start of the pandemic.
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for example, while 45 per cent of people admitted to coughing into their hands and not washing afterwards before the pandemic, 83 per cent now say they have changed their ways and would clean their hands. and while six out of ten respondents said they wouldn’t wash their hands after touching their phones, compared to eight pre-covid.
when it came to returning to restaurants and bars, 45 per cent said that while deciding to eat out depended on the need to use the bathroom and the germs they may be exposed to, hand sanitizer and motion sensors on toilets to avoid contact would increase their comfort level, as would doors that didn’t need to be touched and signs that told them when the bathroom was last cleaned.
“washroom hygiene has never been more important with the need to provide solutions that make people feel safe when using away from home facilities now the number one priority for businesses,” said guice.
lisa machado is the executive producer of healthing.ca.
lmachado@postmedia.com | @iamlisamachado
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