Don't want to get sick this winter? Pandemic health habits to keep in the long term

The Covid-19 pandemic started two and a half years ago and it looks like other viruses are taking over the limelight.

There are outbreaks of foot and mouth disease in child care centers in the Northern Territory and North Queensland, an increase in the number of flu cases and the emergence of monkeypox in Australia (although experts say it unlikely to take off).

< p class="dcr-3jlghf">The good news is that maintaining some of the health and hygiene habits adopted because of Covid will also reduce the risk of contract other surgeries, experts say.

Keep your hands under control

Studies have shown that the number of people soaping their hands after using the bathroom was low before the pandemic : about one in four people globally and one in two in areas with good access to handwashing facilities.< /p>

This has led to a lot of (dirty) finger pointing at the start of the pandemic, with a deluge of public posts and awkward celebrity videos emphasizing the importance of washing hands thoroughly with soap and running water for 20 seconds, or use hand sanitizer if you can't get to a tap.

Dr Kerry Hancock, an Adelaide-based GP with a particular interest in medicine respiratory tract, says that although Sars-CoV-2 is now known to spread primarily through the air, hand hygiene is the “cornerstone” of infection prevention – and a simple way to reduce the transmission of other viruses and bacteria.