The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many aspects of life; including personal hygiene practices. We aimed to assess the role of the COVID-19 pandemic in improving personal hygiene in Saudi Arabia.Methods: We administered a questionnaire distributed online to determine alterations in personal hygiene practices during this pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic phase. Results:  The percentages of respondents who always washed their hands after coming back home, used soap to wash their hands, used a hand sanitizer outside, wore a face mask while outside, and washed their hands before preparing and/or eating food increased from 34.1%, 58.8%, 5.2%, 1.4% and 74.9% before the pandemic, respectively, to 89.6%, 90%, 63.5%, 59.2% and 89.1% during the pandemic, respectively. The percentage of respondents who never shook hands with people they know increased from 0% before the pandemic to 62.6% during the pandemic. The mean duration of washing hands with soap significantly increased from 13.31 seconds before the pandemic to 28.01 seconds during the pandemic (P<0.0001).Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a noticeable improvement in personal hygiene habits in Saudi Arabia mainly those related to COVID-19 prevention.

Dr Fahmida Khatoon is currently working in the discipline of Biochemistry as an associate professor and healthcare provider in Hail University clinics. Her primary research interest is to understand molecular mechanisms of viral infection to develop new strategies for predictive, preventive, and therapeutic strategies for them. She believes in multidisciplinary research for creative outcomes. She engaged herself in learning protein Chemistry, Genetics, biophysical aspects, and biological evaluation of material. She has published more than 100 publications in national /international journals along with two books. She has presented more than 12 abstracts in national and international conferences/symposia. She is also serving as a reviewers for more than eight international journal