Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of asking people to wear gloves in order to stop the spreading of viruses.

The Government is considering all options to tackle COVID-19 and continues to be guided by the science. Public Health England’s (PHE) advice on how to minimise the spread of viruses focuses on hand hygiene and the ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ advice for coughs and sneezes. Recent campaign materials are available to view at the following link:

https://campaignresources.phe.gov.uk/resources/campaigns/101-coronavirus-/resources

PHE has issued the following guidance on COVID-19: infection prevention and control guidance. This recommends the use of Personal Protective Equipment, including disposable gloves by healthcare professionals or facilities that may be involved in the investigation or management and care of possible COVID-19 patients. The guidance can be viewed at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-infection-prevention-and-control/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-wn-cov-infection-prevention-and-control-guidance#PPE