The UK public has been urged to regularly clean their mobile phones to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
This comes after the amount of confirmed cases continues to grow- at the time of writing, the number has jumped to 87.
According to the Manchester Evening News , the UK government released a hygiene message on Wednesday, March 4 telling people how to efficiently was their hands to prevent the spread of the virus.
However, the public also need to consider how sanitary their mobile phones are.
Once picked up, the germs on the devices will transfer onto your clean hands.
It is believed that the virus can survive for several hours on hard surfaces - which can include door handles and kitchen counters, as well as your phones.
Professor William Keevil, from the University of Southampton, told the Telegraph : "You could be washing your hands, but if you start touching your smartphone screen and then touch your face that is a potential route of infection."
However, in order to avoid damaging your phone you shouldn't use any water to clean it.
The advice is to wipe your phone with alcohol wipes at least twice a day to help prevent the spread of the virus.
Professor Mark Fielder, a microbiologist at Kingston University, said: "I would suggest at the moment wiping your phone over with an alcohol wipe, and perhaps don’t share your phone around."
