The coronavirus is quickly spreading across the globe. According to CBS, the U.S. has had two deaths, almost 90 confirmed cases and it has spread to at least 12 states.

This has led to an increase in better hygiene for some people. Hand sanitizer and antibacterial soap are flying off the counters at local stores. But why isn’t this normal practice for us every day? It shouldn’t take a deadly disease for you to wash your hands.

While the coronavirus has picked up two victims in the country, the flu has had around 48,000 fatalities this season in the U.S. alone. Health experts around the world say our biggest prevention tactic for fighting coronavirus is to wash our hands. But this tactic isn’t exclusive to the coronavirus. It works for other diseases as well.

I never saw people rushing to wash their hands with the flu, but the coronavirus has everyone diving for the bar of soap.

I’m not trying to downplay the severity of the coronavirus. It is a deadly disease of which we have no known vaccine for. It is spreading quickly and has the potential to cause a lot of deaths.

People should be smart and adopt good hygiene habits to combat this disease but try not to give them up once the disease becomes contained. The benefits of good handwashing are more than just coronavirus prevention.

According to ABC News, hand washing became a common practice for doctors after 1846 when a Hungarian doctor noticed that patients got sick more often if their doctors didn’t wash their hands. That means we’ve had the ability to prevent the spread of diseases for over 150 years now. We just haven’t been doing it.

So as the coronavirus continues to spread and the flu season continues, keep washing. Use soap. In the end, you’re not just doing it for yourself, you’re doing it for others around you. Don’t be the reason someone gets a disease.

When flu season ends and the coronavirus is gone, don’t stop washing your hands, because that’s how other diseases get their start.