Soap vs COVID-19

Hand washing with soap – often, and throughout the day – prevents the spread of many diseases, for example diarrhoea and cholera which are transmitted through fecal–oral route. People can also become more easily infected with respiratory diseases such as the common cold, influenza, SARS, MERS and COVID-19 if they do not wash their hands before touching their eyes, nose or mouth.

In the 1980s, foodborne outbreaks and healthcare-associated infections led the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to more actively promote hand hygiene as an important way to prevent the spread of infection. The outbreak of swine flu in 2009 and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 led to increased awareness in many countries of the importance of washing hands with soap to protect oneself from such infectious diseases. For example, posters with "correct hand washing techniques" were hung up next to hand washing sinks in public toilets and in the toilets of office buildings and airports in Germany.