No need to use gloves when shopping or outdoors – HSE

There is no need to use gloves when shopping or outdoors to protect against Covid-19, the Health Service Executive has advised.

Although the use of disposable and other types of gloves has become a common sight during the pandemic, the HSE is recommending against their use.

"We do not recommend using gloves while doing your shopping or when you are out and about," says Prof Martin Cormican, HSE national lead for infection control.

“If there are bugs on your gloves those bugs often end up on your hands when you take the gloves off and from there they can very easily end up in your mouth, nose and eyes.

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“It’s much better to clean your hands regularly and properly.”

Even in special settings such as hospitals where gloves are valuable there is still a need to perform hand hygiene when the gloves come off, he points out, and gloves are single-use for single patient care tasks.

The World Health Organisation also advises against the routine wearing of gloves to protect against Covid-19. Tuesday is WHO hand hygiene day.

Dublin City Council has urged the public to properly dispose of gloves and masks during the lockdown after reports of people dumping them on the ground.

Prof Cormican has consistently advocated against the use of face masks for general use. However, the National Public Health Emergency Team is expected to recommend the use of “face coverings” in limited circumstances such as public transport and large retail outlets shortly, as part of a phased loosening of restrictions designed to curb the spread of the virus.

The HSE is also advising people to ensure they clean the surfaces of computers, phones and mobiles, even if working from home.

In bathrooms, it says the “real danger” for infection is not the toilet but handles and taps. Drying your hands with paper towel will reduce the bacterial count by about half, but using a hand dryer could increase it threefold because it blows out bacteria already living in the dryer’s warm, moist environment.