A new research study undertaken by Just Sanitise, a leading manufacturer of WHO approved hand sanitiser, has shown that a staggering number of men are still not washing their hands well enough to halt the spread of Covid-19.
The public health advice to wash hands for more than 20 seconds was the message sent out to the nation because it was the simplest and quickest way to protect individuals from catching and spreading the illness. However, this in-depth research has shown that one in five of UK men and up to one in four 25 to 44-year olds especially are ignoring this sound advice.
Just Sanitise conducted their research of 1,500 men, across the United Kingdom, and it was the men who were aged between 35-44 from England who were the least likely to be thorough when washing their hands. Singing two verses of the “Happy Birthday” song was deemed a simple way to time hand washing, and yet men in England were the worst, compared to Scottish and Northern Irish men, at following this simple advice.
The survey showed that it was Welsh men who took their hand washing seriously with 95% of them surveyed washing for the full 20 seconds. English men were the by far the worst with one in five washing for minimal time.
Nine out of ten women across all of the nation’s took the advice of the government and the WHO seriously washing for the full 20 seconds every time. The women who were over 65, and often considered to be more vulnerable from Covid-19 were the most hygiene conscious with a 95% success rate for the 20 second hand wash.
Just Sanitise, is an alliance of businesses based in Aberdeen, manufacturing 80% alcohol hand sanitiser spray that kills bacteria and is effective against viruses, including the human coronavirus. Its hand sanitiser passed a BS EN 14476 test that shows it takes two minutes to be effective against coronavirus.
The alliance has been helping address the supply and demand issue for effective bacteria and virus-killing sanitiser across both the public and private sector.
Central to Government advice at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock told the nation on the importance of washing their hands more often, washing for 20 seconds, using soap and water or hand sanitiser. He explained that washing hands regularly is the single most important thing that an individual can do to protect against Covid-19.
Nicola Hartland, Co-founder and CEO of sanitiser firm Just Sanitise, said:
“With such high profile, Government-led campaigning to help the UK fight Covid-19, it came as something as a surprise to see such high rates of non-adherence to such important guidance.
“The recent clusters in Leicester, areas of the North West of England, as well as Aberdeen, have been a massive blow for the economy, particularly for the hospitality, leisure and hair and beauty sectors, but it has also been a wake-up call that the health, safety and protection of staff and customers must be a priority as we continue to fight this ongoing battle with a deadly virus and it’s crucial that businesses invest in the most effective PPE.
“We are currently working with businesses and community group across lockdown areas, providing sanitiser donations, helping them during the current restrictions and supporting them for eventual reopening.”
For more information contact Katharine McNamara at Katharine@justsanitise.com or 07966 505661
Notes to editors
Research was undertaken via Google Surveys on 11th August 2020 with a sample size of 1,500.
Handwashing split by gender and age – UK sample
| Spend less than 20 seconds washing hands | ||
| Age | Men | Women |
| 18-24 | 17.5% | 17.0% |
| 25-34 | 22.1% | 12.8% |
| 35-44 | 23.5% | 10.3% |
| 45-54 | 15.5% | 12.5% |
| 55-64 | 18.6% | 10.6% |
| 65+ | 17.8% | 5.1% |
Handwashing split by gender and nation – UK sample
| Spend less than 20 seconds washing hands | ||
| Nation | Men | Women |
| England | 20.2% | 12.0% |
| Scotland | 16.9% | 10.9% |
| Wales | 5.1% | 12.9% |
| N Ireland | 19.2% | 12.7% |
**Additional age and regional breakdowns are available on request.
About Just Sanitise
Just Sanitise is working to support the UK against COVID-19. The experienced team with a diverse skillset and towering ambitions, believes it can play a major role helping the UK emerge from the pandemic stronger and better prepared.
Just Sanitise is a BS EN1276, EN13697, EN14476 and EN1500 certified, powerful, and quick drying liquid hand sanitiser spray. It kills 99.999% of bacteria and is effective against viruses including human coronavirus.
The ongoing supply and demand issues with hand sanitisers had driven prices to unnecessary highs and left those most in need, dangerously exposed.
Just Sanitise wanted to help the situation, and so an alliance of business leaders came together and founded the organisation.
Based in the heart of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, the company is working to provide the nation with vast quantities of our fast-acting, quick drying, WHO-approved hand sanitiser, while driving down costs for customers.
They possess a state-of-the-art production and bottling facilities and a 24/7 distribution network, powered by a team of team of 50 people and a fleet of 33 vehicles with 42 trailers
