Tech items, could they be key to virus containment?
So the other day I was enjoying my usual jog in a nearby park when a little girl approached me with an instant camera, asking me to take her picture with her dog.
Naturally, I grabbed the camera, took multiple pictures, passed it back to the girl and went about my day ‘normally’ — then BAM, only hours later I realize my ‘bare’ mistake!
You see, our lives are wired around so many spontaneous ‘Tech moments’. That’s why the objects we most frequently touch and pass around are tech-related items.
In fact, most of us even start our day by checking our phones first thing in the morning (which according to Bustle, we shouldn’t be doing by the way 🤷♀️).
We at GAT Labs believe that safety and security are inclusive concepts not restricted to the cyber world only.
Mobile Phones 📱:
According to William Keevil, a professor of environmental healthcare at the University of Southampton, “You could be washing your hands, but if you start touching your smartphone screen and then touch your face that is a potential route of infection”.
While the average person picks up their phone around 76 times per day, it’s recommended that you clean yours twice a day with alcohol wipes to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
It also goes without saying that you shouldn’t be passing your mobile phone to others these days and stick to sharing your screen from a distance when needed.
You’re sitting next to someone you know, they’re listening to music, then comes a song they want you to check out so they quickly pass on their earphones to you. Sounds familiar? — We’re all guilty of it!
Let me first tell you that it’s never a good idea to share earphones in general as they easily transfer bacteria from ear to ear. This, of course, applies to viruses too.
If you spend a good portion of your day using earphones make sure to follow these tips to stay better protected:
- Keep your earphones in a case at all times when not in use (we too often forget that one).
- Always wash your hands before handling your earphones.
- Wipe your earphones with alcohol wipes regularly to disinfect.
- Treat your earphones the same as your toothbrush, no sharing!
Public Touch Screens 🖥️:
We’ve already established that touch screens provide an ideal environment for viruses to grow. Sadly, that’s not limited to our mobile phones only, but all touch screens in general.
The reason why this is particularly important is that, even when wearing protective gloves, most of the time those screens need to be touched with bare fingers to be responsive.
This means many of us will be taking off those gloves instinctively to handle touch screens at ATMs, ticket machines, self-service outlets, etc.
“Now with this (pandemic), you’d think consumers would be rather wary of interacting with something that thousands of people had touched before them.” Chris Schreiner, director of UX innovation at Strategy Analytics, told Investor’s Business Daily.
Remote Controls 🎚️:
Summer is almost here — which means air conditioners will be constantly on in so many countries and remote controls will be passed on infinitely from one person to another.
This, of course, makes them one of the TOP virus transmission objects for the hot season.
With that, now might be a good time to give those remote controls a good clean and add them to your ‘housekeeping’ cleaning list going forward.
Here’s how to regularly disinfect your remote controls without damaging them:
- Start by taking the batteries out.
- Shake the item upside down to get rid of any dirt that may be lodged between the buttons.
- DON’T spray the disinfectant directly onto your item. Rather wipe it thoroughly with disinfectant wipes or a disposable cloth moistened with the solution.
- Let it air dry.
From security keypads at building gates and elevators to public lockers and gas stations etc., they’re everywhere and sometimes using keypad combinations is just unavoidable.
To that, consider carrying some disposable tissues (if you’re short on latex gloves) to use every time you handle public keypads. Alternatively, you’ll need to make sure to instantly sanitize your hands right after and before touching anything else.
Feeling a bit of a germaphobe lately? — We all are nowadays.
Join the conversation on twitter, we’d love to hear about your favourite Tech hygiene routine or tip?
Think this can be useful someone else? Use the below buttons to share this blog post with your circle on social media 👇