Wearing Gloves During Pandemic: A False Sense of Security

By Nur Najia Izzati

COVID-19 is a newly discovered coronavirus, which is a type of respiratory virus. The whole world is getting affected by this infectious disease as there is no vaccine available for it. The first outbreak of this strain happened in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. Malaysia detected its first case on 24 th of January 2020. During this critical moment, everyone is doing their best to protect themselves from getting affected by the virus.

The World Health Organization and Centre of Disease Control recommends wearing face masks as there are widespread transmissions of the virus even though everyone is

practicing social distancing. However, people might be wondering if wearing gloves is one of the precautions that should be taken as it seems like the gloves can be used as a protective shield for them. There are public places such as supermarkets and shopping malls that provide free gloves for their customers, but do gloves really protect us from spreading the virus?

You should know that Coronavirus is not transmitted via skin contact, but one would get

affected through the transmission to our mucus membrane which are the nose, eyes, and mouth. Our skin is a better barrier than gloves, so wearing them while running errands would not give us any immunity or protection. By wearing these gloves, it gives everyone a false sense of protection from the virus as they think that their hands are protected by these two pieces of plastic.

In fact, virus on various surfaces will stick to the gloves and can be transferred to all other surfaces too which would cause self-contamination or cross contamination. Self-contamination and cross contamination happen when people touch surfaces on the public spaces and then start to touch their personal belongings such as phones or even their own face. The virus would spread easily during these contaminations processes so it would lead to widespread transmission. By avoiding wearing gloves in public, it could play a huge role in preventing the virus from spreading.

“We can protect ourselves from the virus by using hand sanitizer with at least 60% of alcohol while you are outside and do not forget to wash your hands regularly with soap and water for 60 seconds too,” said Dr. Rohazimawati, a doctor from a private clinic in Kuala Lumpur. People may think that gloves can give them protection because they have seen the usage of gloves by the healthcare workers at the hospital or clinics. However, the doctors and nurses usually use gloves while interacting with the patients and instantly throw the gloves away after using it, she added.

The problem with the usage of gloves is actually because many of us do not throw it the right way after using it. Even worse, some of us reuse it to save money. If you are using gloves when you are outside, you should learn to dispose it the right way according to Control Disease Centre (CDC)’s recommendation to prevent the virus from spreading. Wearing gloves when you are running errands is not a wrong thing to do but if it could worsen the situation, then you should avoid using it.

You should play a good role in handling this pandemic. Follow the advice from the right

channels such as the Ministry of Health Malaysia, the Ministry of Defence Malaysia, the

World Health Organization (WHO) and Control Disease Centre (CDC) to get the right facts about what is happening right now. Do not believe fake news or messages that are

spreading on the Internet or social media.

Protect Yourself!

• Regularly clean your hands with alcohol-based sanitizer or wash them with soap and water.

• Practice social distancing with at least 1-meter distance between yourself and the others.

• Avoid touching your face especially nose, eyes, and mouth to avoid infection.

• Self-isolate when you detect minor symptoms such as cough, fever, and headache until you recover.

• Seek medical help immediately when you have fever, cough, and difficulty in breathing.

How to Remove Gloves? (CDC’s Recommendation)

1. Grasp the outside of one glove at the wrist. Do not touch your bare skin.

2. Peel the glove away from your body, pulling it inside out.

3. Hold the glove you just removed in your gloved hand.

4. Peel off the second glove by putting your fingers inside the glove at the top of your wrist.

5. Turn the second glove inside out while pulling it away, leaving the first glove inside the second.

6. Dispose of the gloves safely. Do not reuse the gloves.