The pandemic has forced us to make adjustments to our personal and working lives, including some of the everyday basics like communicating effectively when wearing a mask, how to keep your glasses and eyewear fog free and smartphone use. We’ve rounded up some of the COVID-19 tips, hacks and advice.

How do I stop my face covering/mask fogging up my glasses?
Most of the government advice on this topic recommends using a fitted face covering that is ‘pinched’ or moulded to your nose. You should put your glasses or eyewear on after you fit the mask.

You might also like to consider using micropore tape, to tape the mask along the bridge of your nose.

Another tip, published recently by Forbes online, is to minimise moisture from your breath causing condensation and fog on your glasses and eyewear by folding a tissue horizontally and putting it between your face and the top of the mask. It should sit over the bridge of your nose and will absorb moisture from your breath before it hits your eyewear.

Advice from the Royal College of Surgeons of England, outlined in the video below, suggests washing your glasses with detergent and water can create a film to prevent fogging.

Making your own face mask
While health and medical advice about the use and requirement to wear face coverings varies from country to country (even within countries depending on regional and local COVID-19 situations), the supply of masks can be an issue requiring a home-made solution.

The US Surgeon General, Dr Jerome Adams, shows how simple it is to make a cloth mask in this video produced by the US Centre for Disease Control.

The BBC have also recently published a step-by-step guide on how to make a face mask.

Wearing and use of face masks
While masks can provide an effective barrier to prevent the spread of the virus, it is important to wear, handle, store and wash (fabric masks) properly to maximise the effectiveness of your mask.

The World Health Organisation has published some guidelines and a video on how to wear and care for fabric and medical masks.

• Infographic WHO (medical)
• Infographic WHO (fabric)

Communicating effectively when wearing a face mask
Wearing a face mask can make communication a bit more difficult, particularly when one of the people involved in the information exchange has hearing difficulty.

Masks can muffle sound but also removes the ability of the recipient to read the speaker’s lips and full facial expression to assist in context and understand what is being said.

The American Speech Language Association provides these tips on effective communication while wearing a mask or complying with physical distancing measures.

•  Make sure you have your communication partner’s attention.
• Face your partner directly, and make sure nothing is blocking your view.
• Talk a little louder and more slowly.
• Use your hands and your body language.
• Ask your partner if they understood you; if not, say it a different way or write it down or type into a tablet or smartphone.
• Move to a quiet place if you can.
• If you’re talking with someone new, ask if there’s anything you can do to make communication easier for both of you.

Smartphone use and cleaning
Facemasks can make facial recognition technology non-effective. Phone manufacturers have recognised the issue and have been making software updates to make it easier for users to swipe or get to manual log-in options more quickly, when facial recognition options don’t work.

Some technology blogs have put together workarounds for how you can set up an alternate face ID. Technology blog 9to5Mac has put together a step-by-step guide for users of some iOS devices.

Smartphones are also a ‘high-touch’ device which raises the question about the need to clean them and how best to do it.

While it’s best to check with your phone manufacturer about specific cleaning instructions, Australia’s leading consumer advocacy group CHOICE have published advice on how best to clean your smartphone and protect against COVID-19.