Everyone is staying at arms length here in our village… it makes sense… no unnecessary journeys either… although OH and I are going for our usual walk (weather permitting)… sunshine is in short supply but if the rain stops we shall be out there…
I’m increasing dubious about this newly-minted hand-washing mantra. If one washes one’s hands, they are very quickly thereafter re-colonised by bacteria that are to be found one one’s other exposed skin and scalp, and by everyday items in the environment.
For hands to remain free of micro-organisms they would have to washed each time they made contact with a non-sterile item, quite impracticable IMO.
I think the hand-wash instruction is just a psychological distraction, something to contribute to one’s sense of having protected oneself and/or others, in the absence of anything else one can usefully do.
Wearing a face mask for anything in excess of five minute is probably worse than any other tactic for preventing airborne infection.
Paper and fabric masks quickly become saturated with moisture from the outbreath, which is itself contaminated by bacteria; and by contaminants in their drawn breath which multiply on the warm saturated surface of the mask, and contaminate the fingers every time the mask is fingered or adjusted.
A load of bunkum I suggest. 
Nurses and doctors are taught that in general use paper masks should only be worn for three minutes before they are discarded into a bin set aside for contaminated items. And are trained never to touch them while performing an aseptic procedure. To let them dangle under the chin is a court-martial offence!
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They are assuming that if you have contact with Coronavirus you will wash your hands and not recontaminate them which depends on how you contaminated them in the first place. Masks are rarely worn in hospital now except theatres and barrier nursing
I hardly think that assumption has any credibility, Mary. We’re not daft. This advice is directed at the general public, and how will they know they’ve had contact with a coronavirus? They don’t bounce along the street like glittering blue balls with pink tufts, as beloved by the media.
I stick to my thesis. It’s a bit of Boris Bluff, that’s my hunch, and I trust him not one jot.
I have nothing against hand-washing, but not as a superstitious expiation rite 
You aren’t supposed to know,the idea is to wash/ gel your hands frequently in case you have a contact. It goes along with not touching your eyes,nose or mouth
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Like there’s a wash hand basin, soap and hot water in every street, shop, doctor’s waiting room, ATM and bus grab-handle? 
[Oh stop your negative whining, Peter, everyone knows you’re a doddering ocatgenarian lost in some nostalgic mist of yesteryear reverie, and a liberal lefty Remoaner to boot! 
]
If there isn’t a wash basin that’s where gel comes in
What public health advice is the French government giving to help prevent the spread of this virus?
Actually I think cleaning your hands one way or another is necessary after touching things like door handles and handrails and counters in eg the post office because apart from covid-19 they are all seething with snot/spit/other secretions full of d&v bugs, plague, leprosy, syphilis etc etc
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Gel and lingettes sold out everywhere locally since the weekend. But at least some greedy buggers will survive, unless Émanuel requisitions the national supply and organises a ration. I reckon one bottle will last a family of three 24 hours.
What is the French government recommending people do ?
I just hope that one outcome of all this will be the provision of hot water to wash-hand basins.
I had occasion to use the ‘facilities’ at a doctors waiting room today and there was only cold water available to wash one’s hands. I know that the temperature of the water has been shown not to make any difference on the germ removal front, but having only very cold water to wash with is hardly an encouragement to do the job properly.
Interesting thing is that this was at the office of a dermatologist and one would think that they of all people would want to encourage folks to wash their hands thoroughly.
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Seething? I love it, made a career out of it in fact. And shit. Up the walls, on the ceiling, hanging like stalactites. Pull them down, they’re back within an hour or so. Behind the radiators, baked on.
If you’re in the food preparation biz, or run a restaurant or a delicatessen, wash you hands. Other times too, but don’t lose your sense of perspective, and ask yourself if Bojo washes his hands* after tucking his shirt tails (or his dick) in. You bet! 
PS *My guess is he just ruffles them a bit, as he does his hair. His shirt tails that is…
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This is part of a story from the times last week, but I’m not a member so only got the first part , so in this respect it’s a good thing if people here actually spend more time keeping clean and using antibacterial products.
A third of French people don’t wash their hands after going to the toilet and less than half before eating, while a fifth of Frenchmen change their underwear twice a week at best.
These are some of the unsavoury findings of a new study into personal hygiene in France, which researchers and Gallic doctors say leaves a lot to be desired. The findings stand to reinforce stereotypes that the French take a laisser-faire approach to cleanliness.
The survey by pollster Ifop found the French continued to display “ignorance of basic sanitary rules, despite public health messages and the current [coronavirus] context."
Only 37 per cent wash their hands after using public transport and 71 per cent after going to the lavatory…
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Any improvement in basic personal hygiene (ie hand washing) is to be encouraged and will help in stopping the spread of the virus.
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Mary… France is offering same advice as the other countries… including … avoid large crowds… regular hand-washing, not touching face, minimum contact with others, sneeze into throw-away hankies etc etc self-isolate if necessary… etc etc.
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So it’s not just Bo Jo and the UK government saying it then
I follow French news… here is a selection re Coronavirus
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I understood that one of the ways in which Florence Nightingale improved nursing conditions in the Crimea was through better hygiene.
Whilst we are always living in a “soup” of bacteria and viruses and normally our bodies cope pretty well, in current circumstances at the very least prudence would suggest that on returning home after shopping etc the first task should be to thoroughly wash our hands in hot soapy water. I believe viruses can linger on inanimate objects and I don’t need to know whether I’ve been in direct contact with someone incubating corona, I just need to protect myself as best I can.
Seemingly the challenge with this virus is that it doesn’t wait until symptoms become obvious to infect others. It can be spread further while one is in the incubation stage. So it’s not just the person who is coughing in the supermarket one needs to avoid. It is everyone. The middle of lunchtime is a good time to shop - the number of shoppers is much reduced.
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Well said! Here’s a shorter path to this simulation showing potential difference in rate of spread and number of infections based on hand-washing or not : https://twitter.com/i/status/1234491912775782400
Obviously not real figures, but it gives a hint as to whether to simply wash hands more often.
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