HOUGHTON — As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise, more and more people are feeling frightened, ill-informed, and helpless. Yet, there are three simple things people can do, according to many sources, to protect oneself, and others from the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19: Scrub (not just wash) hands with plain old hand soap for at least 20 seconds (40 seconds would be better); stay home unless it is absolutely necessary to go out; practice social distancing, staying at least six feet away from other people. Of these, hand scrubbing is probably the easiest.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website states: “Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after you have been in a public place, or after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing. If soap and water are not readily available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Cover all surfaces of your hands and rub them together until they feel dry.”

There is a definite science behind hand-scrubbing. Coronaviruses are some of the easiest types of viruses to kill with the appropriate product, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. “It has an envelope around it that allows it to merge with other cells to infect them,” says Stephen Thomas, M.D., chief of infectious diseases and director of global health at Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, N.Y. “If you disrupt that coating, the virus can’t do its job.”

“Why does soap work so well on the new coronavirus and, indeed, most viruses?” asked Market Watch. “Because it is a self-assembled nanoparticle in which the weakest link is the lipid bilayer.”

In laymen’s terms, coronaviruses, including COVID-19, are encased a lipid envelope, which is essentially a layer of fat, explains WebMD. Soap can break that fatty layer apart, making the virus incapable of infecting the hand washer.

Plain soap contains molecules that are actually called “soap molecules,” reports Forbes. They contain a hydrophobic (water-repelling) end and a hydrophilic (water-loving) end. When mixed with water, the components of a soap molecule line up so that the water-loving ends are facing out, and the water-hating ends are facing in. When dissolved in water, the components in soap form circular “micelles,” exposing all of the water-loving ends outward. The coronavirus is coated with lipids (fats) and proteins, The hydrophilic (water-loving) component of soap acts to dissolve the lipids and break down the proteins, of which both actions help prevent the virus from entering the cells on the skin. Hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol also has effects on this virus. The alcohol acts to disrupt RNA molecules in the virus, preventing viral replication (in other words it blocks the virus from making copies of itself). But soap is slightly superior, as there is the scrubbing part that comes with hand washing with soap and water.

Consumer Reports concurs, stating that just the friction from scrubbing with soap (any kind of soap) and water can break the coronavirus’s protective envelope.

“Scrub like you’ve got sticky stuff on the surface and you really need to get it off,” says Richard Sachleben, an organic chemist and a member of the American Chemical Society.

Discard the towel or leave it in a bowl of soapy water for a while to destroy any virus particles that may have survived, the Consumer Report states.

Antibacterial soap will not provide added protection against the coronavirus because it kills bacteria, not viruses, cautions Consumer Reports. It can still be used, however, as long as people scrub with it.