Handrails
Handrails, especially escalator handrails in malls, are dirty and full of germs. According to a report of CBS news, handrails contain traces of food, E. coli, urine, mucus, feces, and even blood.
The best method to avoid picking up germs from handrails is to avoid touching them altogether when on stairs, escalators, buses, trains, and other public locations, if there’s no risk of hurting yourself, that is. If you do touch a handrail, England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty warns people not to touch their faces afterwards, as there can be “some risk of transmission.”
“So, if you go on to the Tube and touch the rail, that’s fine, but just be aware of what you do with your hands – don’t touch your face, wash your hands, and then you can do what you like,” says Witty.
Lift buttons
There’s no other way to use an elevator except pushing its buttons. For this simple reason, they’re essential but also dangerous because they’re touched by a lot of people throughout the day.
To avoid touching the buttons, people in China resorted to all sorts of tricks such as using lighters, pens, or toothpicks to choose a floor, while other buildings use voice-controlled directions. But the most innovative solution to this problem has been the implementation of holographic buttons. This futuristic method can be seen in at least one building in Hefei.
Holographic lift buttons are not a common occurrence in other countries, the US included, therefore using tools such as toothpicks could be efficient, as long as you throw them away afterwards.
2 thoughts on “8 Ordinary Objects You Should Avoid Touching During Coronavirus Outbreak”
thanks for the good advice
Most of these, I already knew. I get very upset when I have to sign for a transaction with the special pen provided with the machine. The drug department at Price Chopper is the only place that offers hand sanitation lotion on the counter by that machine. Not so in the grocery department. I try to have my own bottle handy to use right away when submitting a check or using a credit card.
I am working at the polls this next presidential election and for the first time, we will be using the electronic signatures. How we are to work with the pen is that each worker keeps their own pen. The one to be used by the voters is to sanitized after each use. That could be another option for the stores, banks, etc.