• Handwashing with Soap and Water (40-60 seconds)

  1. Wet hands with water
  2. Apply enough soap to cover all hand surfaces
  3. Rub hands front and back (palms, fingers, and between the fingers)
  4. Rinse hands with water
  5. Dry thoroughly with a singe-use towel
  6. Use towel to turn off faucet

• Handwashing with alcohol-based formulation (20-30 seconds)

  1. Apply a palmful of the product in a cupped hand and cover all surfaces
  2. Rub hands front and back (palm to palm and between fingers)
  3. Once dry, your hands are safe

    Other important personal hygiene points are:

• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze;
• If you don't have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve (not with the hand, as that contaminates the hand and can spread organisms further by touching any surface);
• Use a tissue for cleaning/blowing the nose, and dispose of it after use in the waste;
• Wash your hands after coughing or sneezing, using a tissue, or touching any surface that may have become contaminated by a prior user;
  • Wash hands with soap and water or clean with alcohol-based hand cleaner;
  • When you wash your hands, wash for at least 20 seconds, making sure that all surfaces of hands and fingers are cleaned.
• Become “touch aware”, and avoid touching surfaces that are likely to have been touched by others (door handles, stair railings, etc); 
  • It is strongly advised that telephones not be shared, but if they must, the handset that one speaks into should be wiped with an anti-viral wipe.
• If you are in an area were an outbreak has been reported, avoid handshaking, social kissing, and other social rituals that involve touching others;
• Avoid respiratory secretions when around other people (e.g. coughing and sneezing).  If possible, avoid contact with individuals at risk until respiratory symptoms have resolved or after 7 days from the onset of the symptoms.

Above source of information on handwashing: Our partner the Pan American Health Organization

• US Centers for Disease Control
• World Health Organization
• American Public Health Association
• Article on handwashing in Wall Street Journal 's health journal column
• Wall Street Journal video on handwashing