How a Learned Habit Contributed to Pandemic Spread

The cashier coughed into her hands. Without washing or sanitizing her hands, she handled the money and merchandise she was holding during the cough. She handed the merchandize, and change, to the customer. My chance of getting this cashier was 50%. I turned that into zero percent as I left the line and returned my items to where I grabbed them from.

Of course, the possibility was there that someone coughed or sneezed near the items I picked up. However, the chances of getting reinforcements to what I already had increased. This occurred prior to the pandemic causing lockdowns and the implementation of health safety measures.

This observation, with the cashier, was not an isolated event. I’ve noticed numerous instances where people coughed or sneezed into their hands and did not follow up with sanitation rubbing or hand washing. They proceeded to grab the very things that everybody else grabbed.

The doorknob you grabbed, the handle that you pushed, the public keyboard that you used, the buffet ladles that you grabbed, etc., could’ve been held by someone that coughed or sneezed into their hands without sanitizing or washing after the fact.

Next up, how frequently do people touch their faces after grabbing objects in public without realizing what they are doing?

Articles and videos on the internet, during the height of the pandemic, focused on open mouth sneezes or coughs. Video animations showed the droplets spreading in the air then landing on adjacent objects. These videos didn’t exactly emphasize the reality that cough or sneeze droplets tend to sink to the ground.

The Japanese did an experiment that highlighted the “contaminated hand” culprit. They sprayed one person’s hands with a substance that shows under black light. This substance represented the virus. Then the group this person was with began eating in a buffet set up. When the designated time arrived, the experimenters switched the lights to black lights. The participants quickly discovered how easy, and quick, it is for one person to contaminate many.

From CNN:

(CNN)A viral video from Japan aims to show how easily germs and viruses can spread in restaurants when just one person is infected.

The experiment simulates the atmosphere at a buffet restaurant or on a cruise ship. It was conducted by the public broadcasting organization NHK in conjunction with health experts.

The video shows 10 people coming into the restaurant, with one singled out as an “infected” person. A fluorescent substance only visible under black light is applied onto that person’s hands, representing germs from a cough or a sneeze. Each participant then goes about the buffet as they normally would, not considering a potential contamination.

At the end of the video, the participants are cast under black lights illuminating where the “infection” has spread.

The substance, used to signify the germs, can be seen on food, serving utensils and platters, and even on the faces of some of the participants.

The article lists a couple of experts. They pointed out that this was experimental, in a controlled environment, etc. This suggests “more needs be done” to verify the validity of this experiment’s conclusions.

However, I’ve avoided getting the cold or flu for years partly by understanding that a common culprit… Behind viral sickness spread… Are those who cover their coughs or sneezes with their hands, don’t wash those hands immediately afterward,  then subsequently touch items that everybody else touches.

The advice to wash one’s hands frequently is a good one. This should be augmented with the advice to wash one’s hands after covering their coughs and sneezes with it. If hand washing immediately isn’t practical, then using sanitation rubs. The handwashing should be done as soon as possible though.

CNN has more on the experiment, including a video, on this May article here. The video is also available here:

Category: COVID-19, It's science!