For the information of those of us who have abandoned the habit of proper and regular hand washing, COVID-19 may not be as widespread as it was in 2020 and 2021, but the disease is still well and alive!

The British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, BCCDC, a government agency, maintains that 80 per cent of common infections are spread by hands. Therefore, washing one’s hands at least five times a day has been shown to significantly decrease the frequency of colds, COVID-19, influenza and other infections.

Given that 80 per cent of communicable diseases can be transferred by touch, that is person-to-person contact, washing one’s hands a few times a day can reduce diarrhoea rates by 40 per cent, says BCCDC. For the same reason, touching one’s face with dirty hands spreads sicknesses like pneumonia, cold and the flu.

Our hands pick up bacteria and viruses when we touch contaminated surfaces. Some viruses and bacteria can live two hours or longer on tables, doorknobs, and telephones.

When we touch our faces after touching contaminated surfaces, or after shaking other people’s contaminated 

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