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

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A man uses his mobile phone. Various scientific studies have found that smartphones contain more germs than toilet seats. And are often held up to eyes, noses and lips – key points for the coronavirus to enter the body. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 5:40pm, 13 Feb 2020Updated: 5:45pm, 13 Feb 2020

Regularly cleaning your phone and washing your hands are a better way to fight the coronavirus spread than wearing a face mask, Singapore’s health ministry said on Wednesday, after an advisory by four doctors urging people to don masks while in public went viral on WhatsApp.

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.

Chen told Black Dot Research on February 12 that members of the public who owned masks did not understand how protective they were, or were “complacent” enough to go without them in public areas.

However, the Singapore Ministry of Health’s director of medical services, Kenneth Mak, said at a press conference on Wednesday that despite “a lot of well-intentioned advice” from various quarters, including doctors, there was no evidence that the virus was airborne, meaning masks were not the most effective method of protection.

He added that a more important task was for people to clean their mobile phones.

“Be aware of things you commonly touch. The thing most commonly touched is your phone, so wearing a mask is not the most important thing,” The Straits Times quoted him as saying.

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.

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

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