Israel’s Health Ministry came out against the use of disposable gloves for containing the spread of the coronavirus, a Yisrael Hayom report said last week.
In guidelines issued to hospitals and Kupat Cholim, Health Ministry officials said that the “use of disposable gloves is not recommended due to the possibility that they will become contaminated,” adding that when health care workers must wear gloves such as during treatments, they must change them as often as possible.
The guidelines added that the use of disposable gloves by the general public is not effective in preventing contamination and may even have the opposite effect.
However, according to the report, the Health Ministry has not issued guidelines to the public regarding disposable gloves and did not respond to Yisrael Hayom’s request for a clarification of the issue.
“The unnecessary use of gloves by the public may increase the risk of contamination due to leading to less handwashing with soap and water,” said Prof. Chagai Levine, head of the Israeli Association of Public Health Physicians.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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2 Responses
I’ve thought this for some time now. I wouldn’t have thought so much due to reduced hand-washing as the article states (what need if the hands were protected), but moreso because it gives one a false sense of security, and then one is much more likely to touch things with their gloved hands. So then when they scratch an itch, touch their face, or even if not, but just when they take off the gloves, then they are much more likely to assimilate the virus than if they hadn’t had gloves, and had thus been more aware and protective of what they touch from the start.
Similarly, I also suspect that masks are deleterious as it inherently causes people to adjust, touch, move and cause their hands (gloved or not) to come into contact with their face or even just very close to it, way more than without a mask. And who is the mask meant to protect – the wearer or others? If the wearer, well that’s what my previous sentence addresses. And if the public – well then the mask gives the wearer the false security to go out and interact with the public more. And anyway, they’d temporarily remove it to sneeze or even cough often, so completely defeats the purpose. And again, causes them to make contact with their mask and face way more, and then go ahead and touch things…
gloves look good but are no substitute for washing.
touch your nose or mouth with hand with or without glove and then give some one food. Same thing.