KUALA LUMPUR: The Covid-19 outbreak has led to positive hygiene behaviour among global citizens, with Malaysians taking the lead in increased hand-washing activities, according to a recent survey involving 11 nations.
The global study found that 95 per cent of the world’s population is aware of the deadly outbreak.
It further revealed that 50 per cent of those surveyed had “changed one or more behaviours” to cope with the threat of Covid-19, including increasing hand-washing and sanitising, as well as avoiding public places and cutting back on travel.
The findings are part of a new multi-national public opinion poll by Harris Interactive and RB, the maker of Dettol and Lysol.
Globally, the study noted that 77 per cent of people are concerned over the virus outbreak – however, the levels of concern over personal risk of infection differ.
The survey noted that countries closer to the epicentre of the virus outbreak, including India, Malaysia, Thailand and China, have expressed the highest levels of concern about contracting the virus - 92 per cent, 91 per cent, 86 per cent and 84 per cent respectively.
These countries have also reported the highest levels of personal actions taken to prevent exposure to infection, such as hand-washing, with Malaysia recording the highest level of increased hand-washing (76 per cent) compared to other countries surveyed.
Thailand came in second at 75 per cent, followed by China (74 per cent), Japan (60 per cent), India (58 per cent), South Africa (51 per cent), US (48 per cent), Saudi Arabia (47 per cent), Australia (41 per cent), Germany (40 per cent) and the UK (35 per cent).
The study also found some differences in attitudes and behaviour between genders, with women (57 per cent) more likely to have adopted increased hand-washing and hand sanitising, in contrast to men (51 per cent).
Older respondents (those age 65 and above) – who tend to be most at risk of complications from infections – are less likely to say they had changed their hand-washing behaviour.
Dr Lisa Ackerley, a Chartered Environmental Health Practitioner and Hygiene Expert said the survey shows that concern about the coronavirus is high, and that it is encouraging to see that people are already adapting their better hygiene practices, such as hand-washing.
“Not only will this help protect against coronavirus infection, but the simple action of hand hygiene at key moments helps protect ourselves against other respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases,” she was quoted as saying in a statement today.
Dr Ackerley also advocates for the concept of “destination hand-washing” that centres on washing your hands when you arrive at a destination to help prevent the spread of infection.
“When you arrive at home, at work, at a restaurant or at the gym, these are moments to trigger reminders for hand-washing.
“Simply keeping your hands away from your face when travelling is also a useful tip to reduce the risk of transferring viruses from dirty hands to the eyes, nose or mouth,” she said.
The global spread of Covid-19 has also led to an epidemic of a different kind, the proliferation of inaccurate news about the virus, which has been called an ‘infodemic’ by the World Health Organisation.
Dettol Malaysia, in the statement, said it is working to educate the public on the importance of good hygiene through its #HygieneStartsWithYou campaign.
RB (Health) Malaysia general manager Oguzhan Silivrili said Dettol Malaysia wants to encourage more Malaysians to practice good hygiene behaviours as a preventive measure from infections, starting with proper hand-washing.
“Good hygiene is important at all times, even more so during this time of uncertainty.
“Dettol Malaysia also wants to play an active role in ensuring the circulation of accurate, credible and timely information to the public via our website, social media (platforms) and partnerships”, he said.
The study is the latest in ongoing efforts to support the fight against the spread of the virus and to increase knowledge for consumers worldwide.
The multi-national study involved 11,000 adults across 11 countries (Australia, China, Germany, India, Japan, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Thailand, United Kingdom and United States of America).