Just over 21% of people in Japan are washing or sanitizing their hands appropriately amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, according to an online survey by a team drawn from Tokyo Medical University and other institutions.
The survey was conducted in June, after a decline in the daily number of COVID-19 infections and the lifting of the first coronavirus state of emergency in late May. The research was published in the Japanese Journal of Infectious Diseases in late December.
Masaki Machida, a research associate in Tokyo Medical University's Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, who led the research, said people may have improved their hygiene because alcohol hand sanitizers have been placed at numerous locations since the start of the pandemic.