Tips for Residential Halls and Colleges
Advice from Professor K Y Yuen, Chair of Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology in HKUMed after his visit to halls on 25 July 2020
- It is important for halls to maintain a tidy and hygienic environment. Clean up the rooms and common areas regularly.
- Three major messages
- Commonly shared items – No!
- Commonly shared areas – good ventilation
- Commonly touched areas – apply handrub and clean frequently
- All students must wear masks when going out of your own room.
- Eat alone, or widely separated. Do not dine out.
- Please use handrub and measure body temperature at the entrance to the lobby.
- Improve ventilation at waiting area such as lift lobby.
- The room air ventilation is poor even with air conditioning. Better to open all windows and use fans.
- Alcoholic hand rub must be provided at commonly touched areas, commonly touched surface or items, for example:
- vending machine with octopus card scanner
- photocopier
- Bedrooms
- Those sharing the same room must have their personal items clearly separated and never shared!
- Keep your room tidy and clean.
- Bathrooms
- Rosters should be made for morning tooth brushing and toilet use; and for evening shower so that the same group with fewer users come together to reduce generalised transmission.
- If there are several basins, keep distance by using alternate ones
- Pantry use and food sharing from refrigerator can be dangerous.
- Dangerous when everyone is using the same bottle of soya sauce or sharing a watermelon, etc.
- Water fountain – do not drink directly from the fountain. Better use it to fill a cup or bottle.
- Laundry room
- Always use hot water and detergent
- Close the function rooms, common rooms, and stop mahjong-playing.
All the above is applicable to all hall residents. The most dangerous time is mask-off time in coming-together settings.
Be careful when using commonly touched surfaces and items especially food items, refrigerators, pantry and washroom!