SINGAPORE - A short online course on infection control and prevention was launched on Wednesday (March 11) jointly by Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) and micro-learning platform Gnowbe.

The course, which takes about 40 minutes to complete, was developed by NP's School of Health Sciences.

Members of the public can access the course for free on Gnowbe's website on their computers or mobile phones.

The course aims to help people understand the coronavirus infection, how it is spread, and how to prevent it from spreading.

Users can learn about the use of appropriate personal protective equipment and how to perform hand washing, according to the course description on Gnowbe’s website.

This comes as the number of cases of infection and the death toll continue to climb in countries across the globe.

The course is made up of bite-sized segments, and there are plans to produce the content in different languages.

Director of NP's School of Health Sciences Phang Chiew Hun said the course was put together by nursing educators.

"(It) seeks to help the public gain a working knowledge of what healthcare professionals call the chain of infection, and the practical ways everyone can go about helping prevent the spread of infection," said Dr Phang.

Gnowbe chief executive So-Young Kang said: "Launching this programme on a mobile micro-learning platform doesn't just raise large-scale awareness, but also increases retention and application of the knowledge through actions."

NP has also developed a separate 68-minute professional training programme for healthcare practitioners to deepen their knowledge and skills on infection control and prevention.

The professional programme is also accessible on the Gnowbe platform.