A survey found that most Americans plan to continue wearing masks, avoiding crowds and washing hands regularly even after the pandemic is over.
Americans are willing to continue the behavior implemented by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, even after the virus is under control.
According to a news release, a national survey of more than 2,000 respondents by Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center found that 72 percent of Americans plan to wear masks in public, 80 percent would still avoid crowds, and 90 percent say continuing with regular hand washing and disinfection.
“While the progress we are making with recovery is exciting, it’s critical that we do not relax the precautions we’ve been working on so far,” said Iahn Gonsenhauser, MD, Head of Quality and Patient Safety at The Ohio State Wexner . Medical Center, says in the release. “Masks and physical distance are still our best weapons to limit spread, and now that we have a vaccine, the precautions will be even more effective and will lower our new business if we stay the course.”
He said the results were promising given the positive impact these health efforts had on this year’s flu season.
“Flu cases and hospitalizations are far off compared to recent years. A lot of them are probably because precautions like masking, physical distance and hand hygiene work to prevent flu,” Gonsenhauser said in the release. “I think a lot of people realize that what we’ve learned from COVID-19 can be applied more generally to keep our population healthy.”