Coronavirus: The video that sums up how difficult it is to avoid touching your face

Governments around the world have been issuing hygiene advice to try and stem the spread of coronavirus.

In the UK, for example, the government has recommended regular hand washing of 20-second periods using soap and water or hand sanitiser.

US advice recommends avoiding close contact with people who are sick, not touching your eyes, nose and mouth, and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces.

However, the difficulty of abiding by such advice has been highlighted in a video of a US health official.

The clip shows Dr Sara Cody, director of the Santa Clara County Public Health Department, giving a speech about coronavirus in which she advises against touching your mouth.

Dr Sara Cody, the director of the Santa Clara County Public Health Department, told reporters last week: “Today, start working on not touching your face because one way viruses spread is when you touch your own mouth, nose or eyes.”

Moments later, however, Dr Cody can be seen to then touch her own mouth and lick her finger in order to turn a page on the notes she’s holding.

It comes as US president Donald Trump joked that he hadn’t touched his face as the virus spreads.

“And I haven’t touched my face in weeks, weeks,” he told the press.

“I miss it.”

There are now more than 96,000 confirmed coronavirus cases around the world.

80,000 of those are in mainland China while South Korea has confirmed 6,000 and Iran has officially reported 3,500.

In Italy, more than 3,000 cases have been reported while Germany, France, Japan, Spain, the US, Singapore and Hong Kong have all declared at least 100 cases.

The UK’s latest figures are due to be updated later today, with England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty saying coronavirus will cause “some deaths” in the UK.