Wash your hands with soap + water.
Did you know that the best weapon against COVID-19 is already in your home? It’s good old-fashioned soap and water, and it’s a simple, safe and strong shield against infection. Watch this short video to learn how soap and water tear apart the coronavirus.
Hand washing keeps you and your family clean and safe.
Wash your hands thoroughly and often.
Washing your hands is one of the best ways to keep germs from spreading from one family member to another. Scrubbing with soap and water helps break down the coronavirus, and water washes it down the drain. Always wash your hands:
BEFORE eating or preparing food
BEFORE touching your face
AFTER coughing, sneezing, blowing nose
AFTER using toilet or changing diaper
AFTER contact with sick family member
AFTER touching animals or pets
Make sure everyone in your family follows these rules to reduce the spread of germs!
Five easy steps to clean hands.
Sometimes we wash our hands too quickly, which doesn’t give us enough time to remove the germs. Take 20 seconds to do the job right. Here’s how:
WET your hands with running water
LATHER by rubbing your hands together with soap
SCRUB for at least 20 seconds, washing the top of your hands, between your fingers, and under the fingernails
RINSE your hands thoroughly under clean, running water until they no longer have any soap on them
DRY your hands with a clean towel or air dry them
Don’t touch your face until you wash your hands.
COVID-19 and other airborne viruses enter our bodies through our eyes, nose, and mouth. Touching your face with unwashed hands can make you sick if your hands have been exposed to the virus. Always wash your hands before touching your face.
Here are a few tricks to reduce how often you touch your face:
Tie or pin back your hair. This will keep you from having to push it away from your face.
Use a tissue as a barrier if you need to scratch your face, sneeze, or blow your nose.
Use the sides of your glasses to take them on and off.
When in doubt, get the sanitizer out.
When you leave home, you may come in contact with COVID-19. Before re-entering your home, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 70% alcohol. Supervise your children when sanitizing their hands, and always keep hand sanitizers out of their reach. Once you’re inside, have everyone wash their hands thoroughly for a full 20 seconds.
NEVER user sanitizers containing methanol (also called wood alcohol). Find out more from the FDA.
Spread the word. Not the virus.
Share these hand cleaning videos.
Soap is a simple, safe and strong shield against COVID infection. Use liquid soap or bar soap to wash away germs from your hands and your home’s surfaces. Scrubbing and lathering with soap and water helps break down the coronavirus, and water washes it down the drain. When washing your hands, remember to scrub thoroughly with soap and water for 20 seconds.
During the COVID pandemic, never touch your face until you wash your hands well first, for at least 20 seconds. Watch this video for some helpful tips on how to avoid catching the COVID-19 virus.
When soap and water is not easily available, use hand sanitizer with at least 70% alcohol to kill the virus. Be sure to rub it all over your hands: Palms. Backs. In between fingers. And rub it in until your hands are dry. Never use hand sanitizer that contains methanol.