Chinese airline companies have advised flight attendants to wear disposable nappies as part of its new guidelines to fight the coronavirus. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), released new guidelines for the country's airline industry on November 25, and have people raising their eyebrows over its suggestions on the best hygiene practices for the cabin crew.
Cabin personnel are advised not to use the aircraft lavatory during flight times from countries and regions with high infection rates. Instead, the aviation authority suggests the use of disposable nappies to avoid going to the loo and risk catching the virus from possibly infectious passengers.
The strict guidelines are contained in the sixth edition of the Technical Guidelines for Epidemic Prevention and Control for Transport Airline Companies, which was released by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) last month.
The stated rules and suggestions apply to the flights departing from places with an infection rate of higher than 500 people per million,
The crew members must also wear full personal protective equipment, including medical-standard masks, gloves, goggles, protective clothing and shoe covers.
According to a report from CNN, the document reads:
"It is recommended that cabin crew members wear disposable diapers and avoid using the lavatories barring special circumstances to avoid infection risks."
However drastic this suggestion may seem, the recommended practice was based on the case of a woman travelling from Italy to South Korea who contracted the coronavirus during her trip, and a visit to the bathroom. It was the only place she recalled not having worn an N95 mask. This had medical researchers conclude the possible source of her infection which is found written in the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention's journal on Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Under these recommendations, China-bound flights from the United States, Hungary, Serbia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Georgia and Croatia will fall under this category.
Public toilets are believed to be one of the riskiest places to catch COVID-19 as scientists said the coronavirus can travel through plumbing. This came after earlier reports of three families living in a high rise building in China tested positive for the virus despite never coming into contact with each other and living 12 floors apart.