Hand hygiene in public by region COVID U.S. 2020

In June 2020, U.S. adults from the Northeast were most likely to wash their hands after contact with public surfaces, whereas adults from the South were most likely to use hand sanitizer. This statistic shows the share of U.S. adults who practiced frequent hand hygiene after contact with high-touch public surfaces, from June 24 to 30, 2020, by census region.

Percentage of U.S. adults who practiced frequent hand hygiene after contact with high-touch public surfaces in June 2020, by census region*

Characteristic	Northeast	Midwest	South	West	Overall
Wash hands	80.3%	77.7%	77.7%	78.6%	78.5%
Use hand sanitizer	69.6%	70.7%	72.7%	68.9%	70.7%

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Release date

October 2020

More information

Region

United States

Survey time period

June 24 to 30, 2020

Number of respondents

4,817 respondents

Age group

18 years and older

Special properties

U.S. adults who had been in public during the previous week

Method of interview

Online survey

Supplementary notes

* Frequency of hand hygiene was assessed on a 5-point Likert scale from “Never” to “Always” using the following questions: “In the last week, how frequently did you use hand sanitizer after touching high-touch surfaces in public” and “In the last week, how frequently did you wash hands with soap and water after touching high-touch surfaces in public.” Answers of “Often” or “Always” were considered frequent.

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