Coronavirus: Gloria Gaynor promotes hand-washing with viral ‘I Will Survive’ TikTok video

‘Thank the gods for Gloria Gaynor,’ Twitter user writes

In light of the global spread of the coronavirus, people around the world have been strongly advised by health officials to take greater care when it comes to their personal hygiene.

The most urgent message is the importance of regular hand-washing, with Public Health England stating it is “the single most important thing that an individual can do”.

In accordance with the health agency’s advice, members of the public should wash their hands regularly for at least 20 seconds each time, using soap and water or hand sanitiser.

Following the circulation of this advice, people around the world have been sharing songs that have 20-second choruses that people can sing to themselves while hand-washing.

Amid the choruses of “Happy Birthday”, Beyoncé’s “Love On Top” and “My Shot” from Hamilton, Gloria Gaynor has demonstrated the effectiveness of singing her 1978 hit song “I Will Survive”.

In the post recent video shared on the singer’s TikTok account, Gaynor is filmed washing her hands thoroughly with soap while her disco classic plays in the background.

“It only takes 20 seconds to “SURVIVE!” the 76-year-old wrote in the caption, adding the hashtag “#iwillsurvivechallenge”.

After posting the video on her TikTok account, the clip began circulating on Twitter, where numerous people shared their delight over Gaynor’s promotion of hand hygiene.

“Gloria Gaynor washing her hands to ‘I Will Survive’ is the hand-washing video I didn’t know I needed,” one person wrote in a tweet that has garnered more than 133,000 likes and more than 46,000 retweets.

“Thank the gods for Gloria Gaynor RN,” someone else added.

Another person opined that Gaynor “has now done more for the health and welfare of the United States than the president”.

“This is a gift and I fear we’re not worth of it,” a Twitter user stated.

While several people expressed their disapproval over the singer leaving the tap running while rubbing her hands with soap, the overall response was that of admiration, with one person stating her video is “possibly the best public health messaging ever”.

In response to one of the tweets about her video shared by a Twitter user called Grant, Gaynor said: “We all need this Grant!”

The singer is encouraging other social media users to take part in the #iwillsurvivechallenge, by washing their hands while singing along to the song’s chorus.

According to official advice, it is especially important to wash your hands when you come in from home or work, after you blow your nose, cough or sneeze, before you eat or before you handle food.

If your hands are not clean, you should not touch your eyes,nose or mouth.

If you sneeze, you should cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve – not your hands – and put all used tissues in the bin immediately.

If you have any coronavirus symptoms or have recently travelled to an affected area, contact the NHS helpline on 111 and do not visit your GP or hospital.