A hygiene expert reveals the ‘three tissue rule’ that will help win the battle against Coronavirus

Panic buying is under way as hands sanitizer and toilet rolls become difficult to get a hold of and hand washing advice is on every channel and on the wall of every waiting room in the country.

The UK has a front row seat to the Coronavirus and a hygiene expert from the University of Sunderland, Dr Derek Watson, a Professor in Cultural Management says this is more about winning a cultural mind-shift war.

“Chris Whitty, one the four UK Governments Chief Medical Officers, indicated that early data suggests that the vast majority who contract the illness will have mild to moderate but self-limiting illness similar to flu.

“The UK Parliamentary message is not out of step with other countries, in that the public play a pivotal role in helping to delay the coronavirus peak, thus buying precious time for the NHS to prepare against an influx of high dependency coronavirus cases.

“UK citizens are now being actively encouraged to take a leading role. Especially in correctly washing their hands and in the ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ strategy for those with coughs and sneezes,” said Dr Watson

Dr Watson recommends using the ‘three tissue rule’

– First, using a disposable tissue to open the restroom door, and then disposing of it.

– Second, after washing your hands, use a disposable tissue to turn off the tap and then dispose of it.

– Third, use a disposable tissue to open the rest room door and then dispose of it.

Dr Watson continued: “For many employees, the adoption of effective hand washing is a logical move to delay the spread of the virus.

“However, the challenge is ensuring that the cultural change becomes second nature. It is not a case of willpower as this is often short lived, you need only look at gym attendance and dieting in term of its sustained effectiveness.

“People need to build good habits whilst dismantling poor hygiene habits. They need to be self-reinforcing and to move from conscious action to automatic habituation.”

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