The COVID-19 Pandemic and Hand Hygiene

Abstract

As in protection from healthcare-associated infections, protection from all infectious agentsrequires an evidence-based, scientifically supported infection control program. Today, all overthe world, the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Preventionshed light on the needs of countries by publishing a comprehensive infection control program.A novel coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has been announced by these organizations at aglobal scale as of January 30, 2020, and the attention of the whole world has been drawn to in fection prevention practices. The leading, cheapest, and most reliable measure among the in fection prevention practices is hand hygiene. Practicing proper hand hygiene has a significantinfluence on the transmission of infectious agents by contact. Proper hand hygiene practicesare inevitable in preventing infections, both in healthcare institutions and in public areas. Ithas been observed that hand hygiene practices are also vital for the novel coronavirus disease2019 pandemic announced as of 2020. Therefore, performing hand hygiene practices correctlyand at the right time in light of the guidelines published by the World Health Organization,Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Turkish Society of Hospital Infectionsand Control will be an important step in ensuring effective infection control. The aim of thisreview is to describe hand hygiene and emphasize its importance in the light of guidelines onpandemic processes and hand hygiene.