Handwashing is key to preventing new aggressive COVID-19 strains

WaterAid’s Chief Executive Tim Wainwright and handwashing and hygiene experts are available for interview.

New COVID-19 variants originating in England, South Africa and Brazil are threatening the progress made so far in containing the spread of the virus. Now, experts are calling for higher priority to be given to vital and basic hygiene measures, such as handwashing with soap to prevent more variants from developing.

The COVID-19 variant first identified in South Africa is spreading fast. It has now been found in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, the French Indian Ocean region of Mayotte, Zambia and in 24 non-African nations. Meanwhile, the strain from Brazil has emerged from within the population of Manaus that were thought to have been approaching herd immunity due to already high infection rates.

The more people become infected with COVID-19, the more opportunities the virus has to develop and change. Each time a new person contracts the disease - on top of the 100 million worldwide who have tested positive to date - there is a chance that a new variant could emerge.

Dr Robert Dreibelbis, Director of the COVID-19 Hygiene Hub at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said:

“With the continued emergence of highly transmissible variants, we need to mobilise the full public health arsenal to reduce transmission and protect the vulnerable while vaccine development and distribution programmes continue their vital work.

“Effective hand hygiene, with appropriate mask use and physical distancing, remain critical.

“A concerted effort is needed to ensure that all people, everywhere have the necessary materials to clean their hands when and where needed, and to ensure that communities are engaged through effective and evidence-based hygiene promotion strategies.”

Research has found that regular handwashing with soap can reduce the likelihood of coronavirus infection by 36%[1]. So this vital and basic hygiene measure must not be forgotten, even as vaccines are rolled out, as it is a key part of preventing aggressive new variants from developing.

In low and middle-income countries which will struggle to withstand the impact of a highly transmissible variant, it is essential to keep infection levels low while vaccine roll-outs, which could take many months, are planned and implemented.  Yet within these developed countries, half of all health care facilities do not have anywhere for patients and doctors to wash their hands soap. And only one in four households have handwashing facilities.

Tim Wainwright, WaterAid’s Chief Executive, said:

“The world is now in a terrifying race to vaccinate people against COVID-19 before new mutations emerge that are not stopped by the current vaccines. It is vital that we make sure that handwashing with soap – a frontline defence against the virus, shown to reduce transmission by around a third  – is available to everyone, using the same levels of drive and ambition that are accompanying the creation of vaccines.

“Three billion people, that’s 40 per cent of the world’s population, lack the soap and water they need to wash their hands. Three quarters of these people live within the poorest and most vulnerable countries, where access to a vaccine tragically seems as though it may be months away. This puts an estimated 1 billion people at immediate risk of COVID-19[2] simply because they lack basic handwashing facilities.

“Viruses can only mutate from one person to the next, so we must make sure everyone is able to help stop the spread.”

For more information, please contact:

In London: Maya Verber, Senior Media Officer, [email protected]. Or call our press line on +44 (0)7887 521 552 or email [email protected]

In the US: Emily Haile, Senior Communications and Media Manager, [email protected]

In Delhi: Pragya Gupta, Media and Communications Coordinator, [email protected]

In Melbourne: Tegan Dunne, Communications Manager, [email protected] or +61 3 9001 8248

In Ottawa: Aneesha Hampton, Communications Manager, [email protected] or +1 (613) 230-5182.

In Stockholm: Magdalena Olsson, Communications Manager, [email protected] or +46 (0)8 677 30 33 or +46 (0)73 661 93 31, or Petter Gustafsson, Communications Officer, on [email protected] or +46 (0)8 677 30 21 or +46 (0)72 858 58 51

WaterAid

WaterAid is working to make clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene normal for everyone, everywhere within a generation. The international not-for-profit organisation works in 28 countries to change the lives of the poorest and most marginalised people. Since 1981, WaterAid has reached 26.4 million people with clean water and 26.3 million people with decent toilets. For more information, visit www.wateraid.org/uk, follow @WaterAid or @WaterAidPress on Twitter, or find WaterAid UK on Facebook at www.facebook.com/wateraid.

• 785 million people in the world – one in ten – do not have clean water close to home.[1]
• 2 billion people in the world – almost one in four – do not have a decent toilet of their own.[2]
• Around 310,000 children under five die every year from diarrhoeal diseases caused by poor water and sanitation. That's almost 800 children a day, or one child every two minutes.[3]
• Every £1 invested in water and toilets returns an average of £4 in increased productivity.[4]
• Just £15 can provide one person with clean water.[5]

[1] WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene: 2017 update and SDG Baselines

[2] WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene: 2017 update and SDG Baselines

[3] Prüss-Ustün et al. (2014) and The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (2018)

[4] World Health organization (2012) Global costs and benefits of drinking-water supply and sanitation interventions to reach the MDG target and universal coverage

[5] www.wateraid.org