A new survey held by the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center recently showed that the majority of Americans want to continue to wear a mask and follow other guidelines for the prevention of coronavirus even when the pandemic ends.
To reach this conclusion, over two thousand people were surveyed. Out of these participants, seventy-two percent stated they would wear a face mask, eighty percent said they would avoid large crowds of people, and seventy-six percent will also avoid physical contact including handshakes and hugging.
Secondly, an overwhelming ninety percent of the participants said they would continue to wash their hands as frequently and maintain hygienic practices in their everyday lives.
These findings highlight one of the positive effects of the crisis. If the majority of the people continue to follow instructions, it may also encourage others to do the same.
Currently, the outcomes of pandemic fatigue are a big concern with a portion of younger adults continuing to ignore taking preventive measures. With the spread of new strains of the SARS-CoV-2, it is very important for all people to take the guidelines seriously.
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According to research on the new strains, they are even more contagious and can also increase the mortality rates among hospitalized coronavirus patients.
Therefore, people should stay at home or take steps for prevention strictly when heading out. Failure to do so may lead to several new outbreaks of coronavirus in the coming weeks.
The results of the survey show that a rising number of people want to continue wearing a mask, maintaining social distance, and maintain hygiene after the pandemic.
This may also mean that many are also continuing to follow guidelines right now, which reduces the risk of virus spread.
In addition, findings also indicate that it may be easier to contain outbreaks and bring down pathogen transmission rates in any epidemics in the future.
The coronavirus pandemic has affected nearly all of the countries around the world and information regarding prevention and safety is now common knowledge. These instructions are the basic preventive steps taken to stop the spread of any pathogen.
Since people would already be following the guidelines, it would be far easier to control any infectious disease and implementing policies for control.
Along with the global population, the healthcare systems will also be better prepared to handle any outbreaks in the future as the coronavirus pandemic many of the shortcomings in the current system.
However, there is still a need to proceed with caution as the survey may only show temporary changes in the behavior. In accordance with experts, many of the changes brought about by the crisis may not necessarily last.
For instance, many were taking extreme steps to prevent the infection ranging from disinfecting their houses every single day to hoarding on different household or food items.
By the end of the past year, the widespread panic had decreased and most had returned to their previous behaviors. So, while the findings accentuate a possible positive change, urging people to follow guidelines will be required for some time.
