As the COVID-19 pandemic continues but case numbers begin to dwindle, Americans’ dedication to handwashing appears to be lowering as well.
Handwashing frequency has dropped 25 percent among adults compared to when the coronavirus pandemic first hit in March 2020, according to a survey.
In the spring of 2020, Americans were washing their hands on average 10.5 times per day. In January 2022, that average dropped to 7.8 times per day.
While the survey shows adults are lowering their handwashing frequency, parents are still placing an emphasis on handwashing for their children. The survey states that 79 percent of parents still take some sort of action to ensure their children are washing hands.
When those kids are outside the home, 64 percent of parents say their child’s school or daycare builds handwashing into their daily schedules.
Bradley Corporation released the information as part of its annual Healthy Handwashing Survey.
This year’s survey also addressed respondents’ concerns about the pandemic. They found that 41 percent of respondents are very concerned about contracting the coronavirus, which represents a drop of 12 percent from the same survey in 2021.
Another interesting piece of information from the January 2022 survey was that 44 percent of the respondents are using a wave to say hello and 36 percent are avoiding handshakes. Those numbers were 67 percent and 49 percent, respectively, in April 2020.
Dave Lubach is managing editor of the facility market.
