Doh.. & HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CONNIE!
I hate to say this, but it's true... It's not really "taught" here to cover your nose and mouth when you sneeze... and quite often... people don't wash their hands properly after using the bathroom here in HK. In parts of HK where there is a higher concentration of elderly people, it's still quite common to see them hawk up phlegm and spit it out on the streets... yuck.
I think the washing of the hands part is the worst problem... My sister once said that to wash our hands properly, we'd have to rub our hands with soap under a running tap for about 30 seconds... which is approximately the time it takes to sing "Happy Birthday" at a brisk pace... Yeah, sis... I question your sources of information... but I agree that everyone needs to really pay attention to this hand-washing problem we have.
Which brings me to this... Has anyone noticed that Japan doesn't seem to be having a SARS problem? Even with its close proximity to the "danger zone"?? They have ONE suspect case. The doctors there have credited a lot of it to luck... but they have also been drilled since childhood about washing their hands and gargling when they get home... read this article I came across...
We really should re-examine our personal hygiene... "Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you..."~