From thorough hand-washing to updated guidelines for wearing face masks, experts are continuously updating the public about precautions that can be taken to curb the spread of coronavirus.
The newest recommendation, according to a virologist, is to wear just one pair of shoes outside as the pandemic continues - which should then be taken off immediately once you return home.
The advice was discussed on Channel 4’s Coronavirus: How Clean Is Your House, where Dr Javid Abdelmoneim, an A&E doctor, and virologist Dr Lisa Cross, revealed to a couple the ways that coronavirus can be contaminating their home.
According to Dr Cross, who explained that the virus can survive on materials such as the rubber soles of shoes for anywhere from “three to five days,” she recommends “just only having one pair of shoes to go in and out”.
Dr Cross also suggests keeping the shoes in the same place, either in your hallway or a box, to minimise the risk of spreading the virus around.
Any risk from your shoes is thought to be minimal, however, according to public health specialist Carol Winner, who previously told the Huffington Post: “There is no evidence to say that the coronavirus comes into the house from shoes” and that “pragmatically, they are on the body part furthest from our face, and we do know that the greatest risk of transmission is person to person, not shoe to person”.
During the episode, the experts also advised the couple to remove and wash their clothes if they’ve had to use public transportation or come in close contact with people, as coronavirus can live on clothing for up to 24 hours.
According to Dr Cross, who also discussed food safety guidelines with the couple, food from delivery or grocery store trips should be “emptied out and wiped down with soap and water in a specially designated area”. He also suggests that people should remove food from its original packaging and place it into separate containers.
Dr Abdelmoneim did note, however, that food is unlikely to be a risk “because even if particles are ingested they will not survive in our stomach”.
And, guidance from the World Health Organisation (WHO) states that the risk of catching the virus that causes Covid-19 from a package that has been moved, travelled, and exposed to different conditions and temperatures is also very low.
