Does handwashing with soap and clean water work against coronaviruses?
Yes, it does. Frequent hand washing is one of the effective measures to prevent viral infection such as rhinovirus and coronavirus. Rubbing hands with soap and water can effectively remove dirt and microorganisms on the skin, and rinsing out the soap under running water can also relieve irritation to the skin. Therefore, authoritative organizations such as the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention all recommend washing hands thoroughly with soap and running water.
How to wash your hands correctly?
Step 1: Apply soap to hands and scrub palm to palm with fingers interlaced.
Step 2: Put one palm on the back of another hand and scrub your fingers. Change hands.
Step 3: Scrub between your fingers.
Step 4: Rub the back of your fingers against your palms. Do the same with the other hand.
Step 5: Scrub your thumb using the other hand. Do the same with the other thumb.
Step 6: Rub the tips of your fingers on the palm of the other hand
Step 7: Rub the wrist of one hand with the other hand while rotating it. Do the same with the other hand.
In each of the above steps, do each step no fewer than 5 times, and finally, rinse your hands under running water.
How to clean hands if clean water is not available?
You can clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Coronaviruses are not resistant to acid or alkali but are sensitive to organic solvents and disinfectants. 75% alcohol can inactivate the virus, so alcohol-containing disinfection products of an absolute (100%) concentration can be used as an alternative to washing hands with soap and running water
