If you’ve been to a local grocery store or “essential’ retailer during the COVID-19 pandemic, you’ve probably seen a parking lot littered by shoppers with protective gloves.

Yes, people are concerned about placing possibly contaminated gloves in their car. But let’s not get carried away. Most stores have outdoor trash receptacles. Or, even better, know how to remove the gloves safely and secure them in a sealed plastic bag in your car.

From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

How to Dispose of Gloves

  1. Grasp the outside of one glove at the wrist. Do not touch your bare skin.
  2. Peel the glove away from your body, pulling it inside-out.
  3. Hold the glove you just removed in your gloved hand.
  4. Peel off the second glove by putting your fingers inside the glove at the top of your wrist.
  5. Turn the second glove inside-out while pulling it away from your body, leaving the first glove inside the second.
  6. Dispose of the gloves safely. Do not reuse the gloves.
  7. Clean your hands immediately after removing gloves.

Not feeling well? Call your healthcare provider for guidance and try to avoid going directly to an emergency department or urgent care center, as this could increase the chances of the disease spreading.

Click here to schedule a virtual visit with a Hartford HealthCare-GoHealth Urgent care doctor.Stay with Hartford HealthCare for everything you need to know about the coronavirus threat. Click here for information updated daily.

Questions? Call our 24-hour hotline (860.972.8100 or, toll-free, 833.621.0600). 

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