As France braces for a surge in COVID-19 cases, which is spread mainly by poor hygiene, a survey suggests that some of the population might need to clean up their act when it comes to cleanliness.
The study carried out by Ifop pollsters for Diogene France, a company that specializes in cleaning filthy living environments, showed that 24 percent of French men only have a “thorough” wash twice a week and 5 percent only once a week. Among French women, the ratios were 15 percent and 4 percent respectively.
Health officials view frequent hand washing as a basic precautionary measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19, but the Ifop study showed that 29 percent of French people do not routinely wash their hands after going to the toilet and only 25 percent do so after blowing their nose.
The study also exposed French men to be far more lax than women when it comes to changing their underwear. Only 73 percent change their underpants every day, compared with 94 percent of women.
Twenty-one percent of French men toss their underwear in the laundry basket just twice a week and 1 percent avoid the problem entirely by going commando (underwear-free).
The survey of 2,005 people was carried out online from Jan. 31 to Feb. 3.
Ifop gender and sexual health division head Francois Kraus said the results showed that while things had “improved enormously” since the post-war period, sizeable “pockets of dirtiness” remain among men and elderly people.
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