Coronavirus: MUHC front-line workers demonstrate importance of washing hands in viral video

If you’re bored of singing Happy Birthday twice while washing your hands, how about doing it while singing MC Hammer’s Can’t Touch This?

Katie Hutchins, a nurse at the McGill University Health Centre’s organ transplant unit, recently used the song in a viral video to urge people to wash their hands amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the video, Hutchins, along with fellow nurse Erica MacArthur and Christopher Boivin, choreographed a dance to the ’90s tune.

The goal is to remind people of the importance of social distancing and frequent handwashing.

“Wash your hands and social distance! But a little dancing never hurt,” wrote Hutchins.

The response online has been overwhelming, catapulting the front-line workers into social media stardom, and the video has been viewed thousands of times and shared by hundreds.

Six steps for proper handwashing

The McGill University Health Centre is reminding people of the six steps for proper handwashing technique, as it is the most effective tool in fighting the spread of the novel coronavirus.

1. Wet your hands with lukewarm water
2. Apply enough soap
3. Rub your hands together for 15 to 20 seconds
4. Thoroughly soap all surfaces of both hands: your fingers, between your fingers, your thumbs, your palms, the back of your hands and your fingernails
5. Rinse your hands with running water
6. Dry your hands with a paper towel or a clean cloth and turn off the tap with the towel