By ANEEKA SIMONIS
IT was bye-bye to yucky germs and hello to clean, hygienic hands at St Margaret’s Primary School last week.
Prep students got a lesson in hand washing by St John of God Hospital Berwick health professionals who visited the school on Wednesday 15 October, Global Handwashing Day.
“I learnt that I have to wash my hands everywhere before dinner and after the toilet … even my thumbs,” Prep student Robbie Parker said.
The hands of around 35 students were covered in glitter glue, or germs as they were told, before they got soaped up at the water trough for a thorough scrub.
Manned with infrared lights, teacher then inspected the student’s freshly-washed hands to make sure all the “germs” were gone.
“It was fun. We got to see all the germs and get rid of them all,” another student Jarra Utah said.
Susie Marquez from the hospital’s infection control department said: “We think it’s much better to start young with matters of hygiene as it tends to stay with them as they grow up.”
She said drumming in the importance of hygiene wasn’t just a lesson for Prep kids.
“We have hand washing mandates at the hospital … the key to preventing hospital acquired infection is to control germs.”
According to the Global Handwashing Day website, more than 200 million people from 100 different countries get on board to learn the ins and outs of hand washing and infection control each year.
