In recent months, we have all been experiencing the reopening of our communities after nearly 18 months of COVID-19-based isolations. For me, during the reopening, it’s been great to see the excitement my children have reconnecting with friends and teachers going back to school in-person.  Likewise, after so many virtual meetings, I’ve enjoyed attending in-person industry events and customer meetings once again.  The common sentiment I hear, and share, is how happy people are to get back to the experiences that bring them joy and fulfillment. The pandemic-induced lockdowns remind us all how interconnected our health and wellbeing is to the interpersonal interactions we cherish as part of our shared human experience.

All of these experiences have also served as an important reminder of why we take precautionary steps to help minimise the spread of germs – to protect ourselves and fellow citizens while keeping our communities open.

No matter if it’s for school, work or just getting back to the things we enjoy, remaining committed to the good hygiene practices we’ve built up over the past year will help prevent the spread of germs and help us all get back on track to the futures we want.  Additionally, I think it is important to recognize that hand hygiene goes beyond COVID-19 and global pandemics.  It’s something core to human health and wellbeing - helping prevent the spread of seasonal illnesses like influenza and foodborne illnesses like norovirus that are more common as we spend more time together.

Global Handwashing Day arrives as a timely reminder to the importance of building good handwashing culture in our businesses and personal lives. At Ecolab, we are excited to partner with our customers to do our part to raise awareness for good hand hygiene practices and help improve handwashing know how, so that we can all move forward together.