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---
title: The Best Songs for Washing Your Hands to Prevent Coronavirus
description: Health officials advise singing Happy Birthday and other tunes to ensure you scrub your mitts for at least twenty seconds
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author: Mélissa Godin
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article:content_tier: free
article:published_time: 2020-03-03T18:16:21.000Z
article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:01:20.674Z
og:title: Best Songs to Sing While You&#x27;re Washing Your Hands to Prevent Coronavirus
og:description: Amid rising death rates and growing concerns about a global pandemic, most advice coming from health ministries has been alarming. But in some countries, coronavirus prevention has taken a more melodic turn.
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twitter:title: Best Songs to Sing While You&#x27;re Washing Your Hands to Prevent Coronavirus
twitter:description: Amid rising death rates and growing concerns about a global pandemic, most advice coming from health ministries has been alarming. But in some countries, coronavirus prevention has taken a more melodic turn.
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# The Best Songs to Sing While You're Washing Your Hands to Prevent Coronavirus

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by 

[Mélissa Godin](https://time.com/author/melissa-godin/)


## Mélissa Godin


Mar 3, 2020 6:16 PM UTC

by 

[Mélissa Godin](https://time.com/author/melissa-godin/)


## Mélissa Godin


Mar 3, 2020 6:16 PM UTC

As the coronavirus COVID-19 continues to spread around the world, health officials are reiterating the importance of washing one’s hands properly. 

Twenty seconds is the minimum amount of time people should spend scrubbing with soap if they want to prevent infection, The Centers of Disease Control Prevention (CDC) [says](https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/when-how-handwashing.html).

Amid rising death rates and growing concerns about a global pandemic, most advice coming from health ministries has been alarming. But in some countries, coronavirus prevention has taken a turn for the melodic.

_Keep up to date with our daily coronavirus newsletter by clicking_[ _here_](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/coronavirus?source=article)_._

From Lou Bega’s Mambo No. 5 to God Save the Queen, health officials around the world are suggesting tunes to wash your hands to:

## **Happy Birthday** 

National health ministries around the world have suggested people sing “happy birthday” twice as they scrub their hands. The CDC even provides some alternative lyrics to the Patty and Mildred J. Hill classic: 

## **God Save The Queen**

Some politicians are turning hand-washing into an act of patriotism. Andrew Selous, a Conservative politician in the United Kingdom has [proposed citizens sing the first verse of the national anthem](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-tory-mp-washing-hands-national-anthem-matt-hancock-advice-a9368891.html) “God Save the Queen” while washing their hands. Britain’s health minister had the same suggestion in an interview over the weekend:


> [](https://twitter.com/bbc5live/status/1234045151883997184)

## The Vietnamese Coronavirus Song

The Vietnamese Health Department released a song about coronavirus, explaining its origins and the importance of protecting oneself against the virus. The song advises listeners to “be responsible if we want to keep it from exploding.”

## **Putin Is A Dickhead**

In some countries, singing while washing your hands is political. 


The ex-minister of health in Ukraine, Ulyana Suprun, [said that people should sing the song “Putin – khuilo!”](https://strana.ua/news/252295-suprun-rekomendovala-ukraintsam-borotsja-s-koronavirusom-mytem-ruk-pod-pesnju-putin-khujlo.html) commonly translated as “Putin is a dickhead” while cleaning your hands. 

The song, which originated during a football match in 2014 during the Russian annexation of Crimea, has become popular throughout Ukraine among supporters of the Ukrainian government. 

## **The Ecuadorian Hand-** **Washing Song**

In Ecuador, health officials from the General Hospital Ambato [made a video in 2017](https://slack-redir.net/link?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FSalud%5FCZ3%2Fstatus%2F1233966206207524864) to promote correct hand-washing. The video has been dubbed over with [a song about coronavirus](https://slack-redir.net/link?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.itv.com%2Fnews%2F2020-03-03%2Fcoronavirus-ecuador-and-vietnam-release-videos-to-get-people-washing-their-hands%2F), explaining its history, how it is spread and how it can be prevented. Altogether now, “”Coronavirus, coronavirus!”


## Mambo No. 5

Many people have taken to Twitter, making their own song suggestions for washing up from Cher’s Believe to Lou Bega’s Mambo No.5.

> [](https://twitter.com/NickyRyan%5F/status/1234078541811240960)

_Please send any tips, leads, and stories to_ [_virus@time.com_](mailto:virus@time.com)_._

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