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Coronavirus: cleaning your phone more effective than wearing a face mask. Here’s how to do it
- Singapore’s health ministry said there is no evidence the coronavirus is airborne, and that face masks are not the most effective protection
- Smartphones are among the dirtiest items people own, and are often held up to users’ eyes, noses and lips – key points for coronavirus infection
The advisory, dated February 10 and signed by doctors Colleen Thomas, Judy Chen, Tham Hoe Meng and Lim Pin Pin, called for Singaporeans to “wear a mask always when leaving home” and avoid mingling in public, claiming this could stop community spread of the coronavirus within two weeks.
The doctors added that those who ran out of masks should make new ones out of cloth, scarves or paper, to create a barrier of protection when interacting in close quarters with others, given that some carriers of the disease did not display symptoms of illness.
He added that a more important task was for people to clean their mobile phones.
Smartphones are among the dirtiest items a person owns, due to how often they are handled, and the fact that many people bring their phones to the toilet, where faecal matter often collects.
Worse, these phones are often held up to our eyes, nose and lips – key points where the coronavirus infects the human body.
Various scientific studies have found that smartphones contain more germs than toilet seats – meaning a quick and immediate way to limit contamination is to avoid taking your phone to the toilet.
![A woman wearing a protective mask uses her phone on an escalator in Singapore. Photo: Bloomberg](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2020/02/13/30e81966-4e3c-11ea-9b4e-9c10402c07b7_1320x770_174533.jpg)
Using an alcohol solution was also effective, the study said, adding that the crevice between phones and phone cases contained significantly more bacteria than the screen.
However, antibacterial wipes can be used to clean the phone case.
According to CNet, other items that should not be used to clean a phone include window cleaner, kitchen cleaner, make-up remover, dish soap, hand soap, and vinegar.
When no other sanitisation options were available, even just physically wiping the phone with a microfibre cloth also provided some decontamination, the 2018 study found.
This article originally appeared on Business Insider.
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