Wednesday, October 15, 2014

ITS Celebrates Global Handwashing Day #IWashMyHands

October 15th is Global Handwashing Day.  ITS is joining the over 200 million people in over 100 countries who are taking steps to ensure a healthy and productive learning/working environment by raising awareness to the benefits of handwashing and promoting ways to practice good hygiene when using shared computers and electronic devices.  There are also steps that you can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others.

http://globalhandwashing.org/ghw-day -
Global Handwashing Day is an internationally celebrated day to promote good hygiene through handwashing with soap.  At Manhattan College, we are doing our part to extend the concepts of Global Handwashing Day and apply them to the ways that we operate in ITS and handle electronic devices and computers.

With smartphone and personal computing devices embedded in our daily routines, we may forget to practice good hygiene when using these devices.  Computer keyboard, mice, and phones can be a hotbed for germs - especially in shared environments.  Besides disinfecting these surfaces between uses, handwashing before and after use can significantly reduce the spread of germs when using these devices.  For information on cleaning your electronic devices:  http://www.cleaninginstitute.org/assets/1/Page/Computer%20Cleaning.pdf


References:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3988 - "How to disinfect the Apple internal or external keyboard, trackpad, and mouse"
http://www.cleaninginstitute.org/assets/1/Page/Computer%20Cleaning.pdf - "American Cleaning Institute - Computer Cleaning - Hotspots for germs in the office'
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Germs/story?id=4774746 - "ABC News - Your Keyboard: Dirtier than a Toilet"