SALT LAKE CITY — We all know we should be washing our hands for at least 20 seconds, staying six feet apart and limiting contact as much as you can to prevent the spread of COVID-19. But, health experts say the simplest way to stop the spread, is to just stop touching your face.
According to research done at UNSW in Australia, we touch our faces more than 20 times an hour, and almost half of those touches involved contact with a mucous membrane.
It’s those touches that scientists say act as a pathway for viruses and germs to get into your body and infect you.
“Viruses that affect the respiratory system enter the body through mucosal membranes which are found in the nose, oral cavity and lips,” Dr. Dawn Mueni Becker, an infectious disease specialist in Gainesville, Florida told CNN. “With poor hand hygiene, it’s easy to acquire a viral infection this way.”
Another reason that breaking the habit of touching your face is so important is that since the coronavirus isn’t actually alive, it can live on some surfaces for hours or even days.
“We need more hand awareness and actions that are incompatible with touching your face,” he continued.
“Avoiding touching your face is more effective than any other medical interventions for stopping the spread of the virus,” said Rice University psychology professor James Pomerantz.
His team of researchers say there are a few simple things that anyone can do in order to condition themselves out of a routine habit like touching your face.
“Many of us have taken a course in introductory psychology where we learned about conditioning and the laws of behavior, and how we can establish and change behavior,” Pomerantz told Chicago’s ABC 7. “We know that this works.”
Pomerantz’s team created an infographic with 5 steps compiled from a number of behavioral scientists to help change the habit of touching your face.
Here are their tips to stop touching your face:
COVID-19 coronavirus is transmitted from person to person. It is a virus that is similar to the common cold and the flu. So, to prevent it from spreading:
Utah’s Coronavirus Information
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Utah Coronavirus Information Line – 1-800-456-7707
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention