Water usage for hygiene practices among Tanjong Malim, Perak community during Movement Control Order (MCO) due to Covid-19

ABSTRACT

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Government of Malaysia, via the Ministry of Health and National Safety Council, has imposed the Movement Control Order (MCO). In that order, the Ministry of Health and National Safety Council has given best practices for personal hygiene during the outbreaks to ensure public health precaution among Malaysians. Thus, the objective of this study is to survey the personal hygiene practices among Tanjong Malim, Perak Community During Movement Control Order (MCO) Due to Covid-19. A survey technique with a set of questionnaires was used to collect the required data on 383 respondents. The data were collected using a cross-sectional descriptive study, and percentage were utilised to determine the level of association. The results show that most of Tanjong Malim community practice a good hand washing technique with a mean value of 4.36 and SD = 0.66. They are also practising good personal hygiene by taking a shower immediately after returning home from public places with a mean value of 4.05 and SD = 0.82. They also wash their clothes immediately after returning home from public places (mean value of 3.90, SD = 0.87). On the other hand, the practice of separating clothes during washing is also high, with a mean value of 3.95, SD = 0.93. The personal hygiene attitude, namely washing their hand before and after touching something inside and outside the house, is also high with a mean value of 4.55, SD = 0.7 and 4.67, SD = 0.5, respectively. It is found that, due to the Covid-19 pandemic crisis, most of the respondents wash their hands at least twice a day, with a majority of 5 to 7 times a day (51.2%), followed by twice to 4 times a day (21.1%) and more than ten times a day ( 9.9%). However, the practising shower for more than 15 minutes and more than three times per day was low, with a mean value of 2.44, SD = 1.32, and 2.48, SD = 0.98, respectively. Hopefully, the findings of this study can be used by authorities as a basis to craft new guidelines for hygienic practices during the virus pandemic outbreak.