Monterey County Health Department warns against wearing gloves in public

MONTEREY, Calif. (KION) More people are wearing gloves while out running their essential errands.

"You can touch surfaces that you know someone else has touched,” shopper Holly Goodwin said.

But the Monterey County Health Department says that wearing one pair of gloves all day is basically the same as not washing your hands.

They said it becomes a problem when customers are carrying germs on those gloves from one place to the next. The issue is when people don't swap them out after every use. Workers, however, are often required to change gloves throughout the day.

"I change my gloves every hour, pretty much," Peninsula Produce cashier Christian Melendez said. "But, you know, we have the supply to do so. I know not everyone is going to have enough gloves to do that."

Melendez said that his whole staff wears them.

"Because we're handling food all day, it's a good idea to," Melendez said.

But, when it comes to customers, the county said they should be living with bare hands for now. They just need to make sure they're washing and sanitizing--especially before and after public outings.

The CDC recommends that people wear cloth masks out in public to protect themselves from the coronavirus. But it does not provide any direction regarding gloves for those who are not healthcare providers.