To protect yourself against a wide range of infectious diseases, it is advisable to wash your hands with soap and water regularly for at least 20 seconds. Where this is not possible, hand sanitiser is a useful and effective alternative. Maintaining a 2m distance from others will also help with airborne infectious diseases spread by droplet transmission.
In situations where close contact is unavoidable, such as public transport or in the supermarket, a face covering may help to reduce the likelihood of transmission. It is important not to touch your face, regularly wash your hands and try to maintain a 2m distance at all times.
There are many ways to reduce the likelihood of picking up cough, cold and flu-type illness. The main way is washing hands regularly and doing it properly. You should use soap and hot water, rub the hands and go under the nails and up the wrist. This should take about 20 seconds and be sure to dry them properly too. If soap and water are not available, hand sanitiser helps to decontaminate the hands preventing the spread of infection and disease.
Staying 2m away from others at all times will also help reduce transmission of coughs and colds. Where this is not possible, a face covering may have a small beneficial effect. This is particularly true for public transport and supermarkets were maintaining a sensible distance can be tricky. The face-covering should cover the nose and mouth and you should avoid applying the covering until you have washed your hands thoroughly. Try not to touch the covering whilst it is on your face or you could risk contaminating it.
Keeping surfaces as clean as possible will help reduce the transmission of infectious diseases. Wiping down frequently used surfaces on a regular basis around the home and at work will go a long way to reduce the spread of cough and cold type illness.
