Name: Coronavirus outbreak: How effective are hand sanitizers against COVID-19?
Uploaded: 2020-03-16T20:46:40.000Z
Duration: 3 min 46 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

while the Corona virus fears, of course, have led as well to empty shelves in many stores, people across the GT A have rushed to stockpile on items like hand sanitizers and household cleaners.

How effective are these atoms when protecting against the Corona virus?

Journalist from our online team have taken these questions to the experts, and our lifestyle reporter, Megan Coley joins us now with MME.

Or Good Morning, Megan, thank you so much for joining us.

Ah, how effective are these hand sanitizers?

How effective are they in protecting against the virus?

It's a great option if you know you're on a busy commute on public transit, or you're in another space where there are a lot of people and potentially a lot of germs.

Ah, but ultimately, public health officials are pushing that.

Hand washing is best with soap and water, and it's good just to do that all the time anyway, no matter what, but, you know, talk about these hand sanitizers.

So there are some do it yourself recipes sort of circulating online amid fears rising fears.

Um, the World Health Organization does have a recommendation and official recommendation for how to do so, but it's really intended more for populations around the world that don't have access Thio medical grade hand sanitizer.

So it's not really recommended for, uh, you know, people in the GT A if they can go and buy hand sanitizer from the store, All right, So what are officials as well talking about, you know, saying about household cleaners?

People make their own when it comes to those as well.

The point we really want to drive home here is practicing good hygiene.

Um, but now more than ever, it's great to keep spaces where a lot of people from a lot of different places might be touching.

So I'm talking about, you know, desks at a receptionist in a doctor's office.

The key here with household cleaners is really making sure you're using the right cleaner for the right surface, so you wouldn't use, say, a toilet bowl cleaner on a kitchen counter for example?

I mean, it should go without saying for a lot of people.

And we've seen a lot of people stockpiling on masks.

And you see a lot of stores now offering these.

What are officials saying about the efficacy when it comes to those?

So again, you brought up a great point earlier.

Um, these are really intended for people with lower immune systems, weaker immune systems or people who are sick.

Uh, the problem now is that we're running out, and it can be taken away from people who actually need these products.

So again, practicing good hygiene is your number one defense against Corona virus.

Um, washing your hands as often as possible, using hand sanitizer in between and trying to stay away from people who are coughing What?

I guess the level of fear among honey that's not even the right word.

Are they trying to downplay the hysteria?

When you pose these questions, it's a great question.

So what we're hearing from public health officials in Canada right now is that the risk of infection is still very low for individuals, especially if you're a healthy, generally healthy person.

So yeah, we are, you know, wanting Thio make people aware of the risk.

And I think the general sentiment is just not to panic and keep practicing that good hygiene that you should be practicing year round.

But especially during this time anyway, just because of the normal flu.

Megan Colley from our online team, we really appreciate your insight.

 So for you at home, you can learn more about these products and protecting against Cove in 19 by visiting our website global news dot c a. 