Hand Washing Is Still Important
Remember those early days of the pandemic when the most talked about ways to avoid COVID-19 were washing your hands and not touching your face? While we now know more about masks and the potential for airborne transmission , I hope you haven’t stopped washing your hands.
Other respiratory viruses, including colds and flu, can be transmitted through both airborne droplets and droplets on surfaces. And since this coronavirus is new, scientists are still trying to figure out how common all modes of transmission are.
To learn more about hand washing, watch the video below:
In a recent letter to JAMA, three doctors note that in some cases of clear airborne transmission, other routes cannot be ruled out. For example, if people were sharing an office or singing in a choir without getting close enough to inhale each other’s droplets, it could mean that those tiny droplets of air have done their job. On the other hand, these groups of people could also touch the same surfaces.
Whether these cases were caused by droplets of air or droplets on the surface, the bottom line is that it is too early to say that COVID-19 is only spreading in one way or another. It is possible that it spreads through large droplets and aerosols and surfaces. We don’t know yet.
Therefore, while it seems that surfaces are not a major risk factor , hand washing is still important. (It will also lower your risk of catching a cold or stomach ailment, and I think I’m speaking on behalf of all of us, saying I do n’t need any of them right now.) Every expert I’ve talked to. mentioned hand washing as a common daily thing that we should all do. So if you’ve chilled out since March, head back to the hand wash trolley.