Public Health in Worcestershire will be urging all residents to have ‘all hands to the pump’ - the soap pump that is, on Global Handwashing Day (Friday 15 October).
Today marks a worldwide awareness day to recognise the benefits to our health by simply washing our hands with good old soap and water.
Washing your hands thoroughly with soap and water, then drying them properly helps to keep you and your family safe against infectious diseases.
Hand gel is great to use to kill COVID-19 germs when you can’t get to a sink to wash your hands, but they don’t kill all germs, such as Norovirus.
As we return to our normal lives, it’s likely that more viruses are circulating. By taking this simple step, we can all help keep well this winter.
Dr Kathryn Cobain, Director of Public Health for Worcestershire said: "Washing our hands with soap and water, then drying them properly, is a really simple and effective way to prevent germs that could make us poorly.
"Don’t forget to wash your hands throughout the day and especially when you arrive at work, get home, after blowing your nose, before a meal and after using the toilet.
"The important thing is to use soap and water if you can. Alcohol hand gels do kill COVID-19 but are not as effective at killing all germs, so only use this if soap and water is not available. It is also important to thoroughly dry your hands too, because germs spread more easily on wet hands."
The Global Handwashing Partnership is an international coalition of organisations working to promote handwashing with soap.
The learnings from the past year have emphasised the need to improve hand hygiene for all.
Global Handwashing Day raises awareness of the importance of handwashing and encourages action to enable people across the world to have good handwashing behaviours.
For tips on great handwashing, please visit the Best Way to Wash Your Hands pages of the NHS website
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