Covid-19: Leave your shoes outside your house when possible; it might help protect you and others from catching the virus
In our everyday lives, we come in contact with hundreds, if not thousands, of surfaces and objects carrying germs and bacteria on them. Most of us probably don't think about this until we're face to face with a global health crisis like the Coronavirus, though. We are, after all, fighting against an invisible enemy; one that could be on any surface at any given moment anywhere we go.
Although government restrictions have already made us adopt certain measures to protect ourselves from contracting the virus - like social distancing and staying home - we can do even more to stay safe. We can disinfect our personal items that have come in contact with people or surface areas we've encountered in places like on the bus, supermarket, or at the office. Another great way to protect ourselves from the virus is taking our shoes off/leaving them outside the house whenever possible.
via Huffpost
The soles of our shoes make particularly great breeding grounds for bacteria, fungus, and viruses, including the Coronavirus. Given it's already been proven that the virus can spread using just half a drop of saliva, we shouldn't rule our shoes out as possible culprits. Given scientists are still studying the amount of time the virus can surive on a given surface, it's best to protect ourselves any way we can.
With the soles of our shoes being made from materials that absorb air particles, liquids, and moisture, it's quite possible that the Coronavirus could survive for several hours.
Until we know for sure how long the virus can survive on the surfaces that surround us, experts are advising to disinfect everything we touch frequently. As for our shoes, they recommend leaving them outside or at least taking them off before walking in other rooms of the house.
Following all these suggestions may seem a little extreme or even useless, but they are easy to do. And if it means protecting ourselves and others that much more from the Coronavirus, why not adopt a few more precautious measures? They might just end up saving yours or someone else's life.
Felipe Esquivel Reed/Wikimedia
