Virus Outbreak: ‘Hand washing’ searches correlated to fewer casesBy Cheng Ming-hsiang, Ou Su-mei and Jake Chung / Staff reporters, with staff writerWeb searches for “hand washing” was correlated with lower confirmed COVID-19 cases in 21 nations, a National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) analysis of Google’s search data showed, the authors of a study said on Friday. A graph released on Wednesday shows nations’ numbers of confirmed instances of COVID-19 on the vertical axis and search frequency for the keywords “hand washing” in those countries. Photo copied by Cheng Ming-hsiang, Taipei TimesThree weeks after days on which the data showed a spike in searches for “hand washing,” there were fewer confirmed cases, Lin said. Taiwan, Hong Kong and Thailand had higher frequencies of such searches, with all three subsequently showing lower numbers of confirmed cases, he said, adding that Iran, Italy and South Korea showed the opposite result after fewer searches. Medical personnel complain of dermatitis because alcohol dissolves sebum secretions on the hands, Yu said.

Source: Taipei Times April 25, 2020 15:56 UTC