COVID19 descended on Singapore since early Feb. It’s been more than a month since, and over time, I found myself adopting new and different hygiene habits and personal sanitary hacks to minimise exposure to the virus. I thought I’ll compile a list here to share for common good, beyond the usual “wash your hands, don’t touch your face, avoid crowds” advice.
Warning: These can seem anal-retentive, but well, times are different…
General personal hygiene
- If you really have to touch your face, do it with your non-master hand, index knuckle. Reserve this part of the hand for that. Of course avoid touching your face as much as possible, but if you really have to, using a part that you try to keep clean is your best bet. Kind of like how some cultures have a “eat with right, wipe with left” etiquette.
- Push open doors with your foot, elbow or your topside of your wrist, instead of touching the handles with your palm.
- Pull on the least used parts of door handles. People usually grab the middle part of a long handle bar, so I grab the top or bottom parts.
- If you have to sneeze/cough, do it into a tissue (if you have the time). Or sneeze into your elbow (or some guys into their t-shirt).
- Avoid handshakes. Wink, bow, namaste, smile, air handshake if you have to.
Commuting on trains, planes, buses and cars
- Avoid peak hour crowds - go to or leave work late or early. Better yet, work from home.
- Stand at train head, first door - usually less crowded, and you’re not downwind of a sneeze, and opening door at every station circulates the air.
- When standing, avoid using grab bars or overhead handles as much as possible. Learn to shift your weight to the momentum.
- Avoid leaning on grab bars or any common surfaces - you don’t want to use your shirt as a cleaning cloth for virus-laden grab bars.
- Stay alert and pay attention to the people in your train carriage/bus. Walk to the next carriage towards the train head (upwind) if you see someone visibly sick/sneezing/coughing. If you’re not in a hurry, alight and wait for the next train/bus.
- Bring an extra mask if you can afford to, not for you but for someone else when you’re stuck in a situation where you can’t leave, e.g. crowd, or in a cab. I offer it to the cab driver if he’s coughing and sneezing more than I’m comfortable.
- On planes, sit on the window seat, and avoid interactions and going to toilet as much as possible. There’s actually a study done on how to minimise exposure on flights.
Entering buildings/malls/elevators
- Use your own pen to register entry.
- Don’t touch the reception/security counter.
- Use your own pen (preferably dried up/disused) to push elevator buttons. Sanitise after use. Otherwise use a tissue and dispose after use.
- Take the next lift if crowded.
- Take the next lift if someone is sick, sneezing or coughing.
Eating & drinking
- Sit at the al fresco section for better air circulation.
- Visit restaurants, cafes and malls that have less human traffic.
- Always wash hands or sanitise with alcohol before eating.
- Avoid cash money, since it changes hands so often. Pay with contactless.
- In food courts with large seating area, sit diagonally opposite your friend, and space out 1-3 metres from others.
- Sanitise the table surface with >70% alcohol disinfectant immediately when you sit down. Use Dettol wet wipes, or spray disinfectant and tissue paper. Don’t use a normal wet wipe – it has no disinfectant properties and you’re just spreading the virus all over the table that way.
- Leave immediately if the next table is visibly sick, sneezing or coughing.
- Better yet, avoid eating out and order delivery.
- Ask delivery to leave the food at your door, message/call you and leave. Install a hook on your door that they can hook the food bags to.
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