The Academy of Medicine recalls the various hygiene rules to be observed at home, insisting on the risk of contamination which does not disappear when we return home.
- During confinement, it should be remembered that the risk of contamination also exists inside homes.
- The Academy emphasizes the importance of barrier gestures, hand washing and surface cleaning
“The risk of contamination does not disappear when you return home, well contrary”, recalls the Academy of Medicine in a press release. Doctors want to remind the rules of hygiene at home “which it is essential to observe in the current epidemic context, especially in families with children”, in particular because compliance with these rules considerably reduces the risk of transmitting or contracting the virus within the household.
The Academy insists on coughing and sneezing into a disposable tissue or your elbow, and not with your hand in front of your mouth. It is also essential to maintain a distance of at least one meter with people living in the same household “when they eat, talk, cough or sneeze”. Likewise, it is recommended to touch your face as little as possible and to ventilate your interior for at least 20 minutes in the morning and again in the evening.
Hand washing
Doctors also insist on the need to wash your hands very regularly: as soon as you get home, coming back from work, shopping, after taking out the garbage cans, coughing or sneezing, before taking care of a elderly and/or disabled person, after going to the toilet, after throwing away shopping packaging, before cooking and before meals.
The Academy of Medicine draws the attention of the French to the importance of washing their hands for at least 20 seconds with water and soap, preferably with liquid soap “which stays clean in its bottle, unlike bar soap, especially when it is bathed in a cup”. Important point: if you cannot wash your hands, use a hydro-alcoholic solution, but keep in mind that these solutions “disinfect but do not clean; they cannot therefore replace washing with soap and water when hands are dirty.”
Disinfection of common surfaces
“SARS-CoV-2 is a virus said to be ‘wrapped’, therefore fragile, incapable of surviving in the environment. It is not the environment that is primarily responsible for the spread of the virus, but contact between people”, say the doctors. It is also important to disinfect the surfaces of the accommodation handled by everyone (door handles, stair railing, etc.) with wipes soaked in 70% alcohol or diluted bleach (one part bleach to nine parts water). As well as laptops, remote controls, keyboards and computer mice.
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