Spreading more than information?

Globally, the number of people who are highly concerned about germs is on the rise too - from 37% in early March to 52% currently…. that’s over 1 in 2 around the world!

Although countries around the world have differing levels of concern of germs, their attitudes and understanding of them are relatively similar.

Just under a third of consumers around the world believe the number one cause of germs spreading is down to our personal hygiene - followed by unclean surfaces.

There’s also a general consistency over what people around the world are doing to protect their health - the leading activity is washing their hands for longer and more often (31%). This is despite the fact that only 18% believe germs are spread through unclean/poorly washed hands…

However, not everyone is prioritising this - consumers in Italy and Spain are avoiding leaving the house more than handwashing. This will likely be down to the fact that these two countries were two of the biggest and earliest hit markets - therefore being some of the first to introduce lockdowns.

However, while these measures were being introduced, other countries were still focused on teaching the public how to wash their hands properly - are our preventative measures influenced more by the communication we’re receiving about COVID-19 than our understanding of germs?