MANILA, Philippines — After classes in Metro Manila were canceled for the rest of the week and the UAAP suspended all scheduled sports events until March 17, the country's big four universities continue to show school spirit with their respective versions of handwashing guides to combat the COVID-19 outbreak.
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Government officials and health authorities worldwide are taking various measures to prevent and contain the virus which causes COVID-19, now recorded in 109 countries worldwide, according to the latest situational report of the World Health Organization.
Beyond travel restrictions and other health policies being enacted by leaders around the globe, citizens have also taken initiative with creative ways to inform their communities during the public health emergency.
These include the recent handwashing meme circulating on the internet.
Washing in the name of...
— RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE (@RATM) March 9, 2020
On this occasion it's best you do what they tell ya pic.twitter.com/unDdBh1HDh
Humor aside, both WHO and the United States-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have recommended frequent and thorough handwashing using soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub to keep healthy.
Effective handwashing, according to the CDC, means scrubbing your hands for at least 20 seconds with a timer like the "Happy Birthday" song repeated once.
Online users have also suggested using more popular handwashing tune alternatives like 20-second snippets of hit songs.
Parts of K-Pop songs to wash your hands to that are approximately 20+ seconds long. pic.twitter.com/IDRzGJGcfi
— On This Day in K-Pop (wash your hands) (@onthisdaykpop) March 3, 2020
These range from the chorus of Beyonce’s “Love on Top” to the intro of My Chemical Romance’s “Welcome to the Black Parade.”
You're supposed to wash your hands for 20 sec, which is the time it takes to sing Happy Birthday twice. But I'm tired of singing Happy Birthday and you probably are too, so I've done the very important public service of compiling other songs with roughly 20 sec choruses to sing:
— Jen Monnier (@JenMonnier) March 2, 2020
For all those who love 90s hits. New songs for hand washing! #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/Y639bcPymf
— Alison (@AlisonObrPhD) March 7, 2020
Students and alumni of the big four universities — Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, University of Santo Tomas, and the University of the Philippines — have since posted their unofficial, localized versions of the handwashing meme using on their different campus cheers and anthems.
Here are some of the university memes found on social media.
ADMU — ‘A Song for Mary’
DLSU — ‘Alma Mater Hymn’
UST — ‘UST Hymn’
UP — ‘UP Naming Mahal’ and ‘Unibersidad’
Learn how to cheer for the UP Fighting Maroons!
— Cheer MNL (@CheerMNL) November 30, 2018
Video by: Mela Abesamis#UPFight #AtinTo #UAAPFinals #BattleOfKatipunan pic.twitter.com/B9K4mvFdqJ