The past couple of weeks have been extremely unnerving with all the news about the spread of coronavirus across the globe. Countries are under lockdown, public gatherings have been advised against and we are being forced to learn the meaning of terms such as 'social distancing' and 'self-quarantine' in the current times. With the presence of social media, we bet there's an information overload happening as well but all we can say is stick to the updates from your government's health and safety channels and follow WHO's (World Health Organisation) guidelines and everything shall be right. Coronavirus has officially been declared a pandemic and while that had everyone rushing to the stores buying bottles and bottles of sanitisers, we can only imagine what kind of a reaction our beloved Big Bang Theory character, Sheldon Cooper would have have had during such a time given that this time it's not just him who's going to be running for "Purell". Quarantine Binge: Star Wars, The Godfather, Indiana Jones - 7 Franchise Movie Marathons You Can Stream While You Sit Indoors Amid Coronavirus Outbreak.

One of the key things that we have learnt from the health and safety guidelines to be followed as preventive measures for coronavirus are that maintaining personal hygiene is key. Be it the regular hand-washing or avoiding close human contact, there's little things could keep you safe. If you have been a television binge-watcher, you have probably seen many oddballs on-screen who may show tendencies of germophobia and cleanliness OCD. Well, it looks like these oddballs may be the ones you may need to follow in order to keep yourself safe amidst this pandemic. From Sheldon Cooper to Monic Geller, let's look at characters whose cleanliness and hygiene habits you must borrow during this coronavirus situation!

1. Sheldon Cooper - Big Bang Theory

If there's one thing we know for sure, it's that Sheldon Cooper would not have contracted coronavirus ever. The famed Big Bang Theory character essayed by Jim Parsons is known to keep human contact to a minimum. He's that person who has emergency Purell in his car too. Even in case of regular cold, Sheldon likes to keep himself isolated from his roommate and asks everyone around the 'sick' person to use Purell if they have come in contact with the person. We bet all these habits would be highly effective in the current climate.

Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper
Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper (Photo Credits: Twitter)

2. Monica Geller - Friends

There's a neat freak and then there's Friends character Monica Geller. She's what would be the goddess of neat freaks. At one point on the show, we even see Courtney Cox's character cleaning the big Vaccum leaner with a smaller Vaccum cleaner, yes that's the point of her cleanliness obsession. Maintaining a Monica-like cleanliness at your residence, especially keeping the metal surfaces such as your doors if they come in constant human contact would be great as a precautionary measure. We bet Monica would have made sure to use the 'fancy' soap every time you wash your hands to help keep coronavirus at bay.

Courtney Cox as Monica Geller
Courtney Cox as Monica Geller (Photo Credits: Instagram)

3. Adrian Monk - Monk

Tony Shalhoub is one hell of an actor and there's no one who could pull off a character like Dr Adrian Monk like he did. His character of a police detective with extreme abnormal fears including germs, cars and crowds is someone who would have kept COVI-19 at bay with immense efforts. Monk uses wipes every time he shakes hands with someone and gets highly distressed, luckily while we are advised not to shake hands, if accidentally you do, you may follow Monk's steps and get your hands cleaned immediately.

Tony Shalhoub as Monk
Tony Shalhoub as Monk (Photo Credits: Twitter/Pintrest)

4. Frank - It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Mind you, compared to all the above characters, Danny DeVito's Frank isn't a clean freak at all apart from that one time when he wants to 'stay pure'. In one of the episodes, we see this character reacting to a virus outbreak and his situation is probably closest to the ones we are facing right now. It's not easy to suddenly become 'pure' so let Frank help you a bit. Don't bathe in sanitizer like he does but make sure that your self-quarantined abode is all clean. 10 Bollywood Hidden Gems of 21st Century to Watch From Home if You Are on Self-Quarantine Mode Over Coronavirus Outbreak.

5. Danny Tanner - Full House

Among the many things you could do as you are stationed indoors because of the virus is that make sure your home is clean. Remember how Bog Saget's Danny Tanner hosted a 'Spring Cleaning Drive' at home in Full House? Well, you could do something similar as you quarantine. Apart from maintaining personal hygiene, it is equally important that you keep your surroundings clean and hence getting rid of any dirt and dust that could even get you a normal cold and make your system vulnerable to catch other infections is key. You could even sing Tanner family-style, "If we find dirt, we will attack" as you clean-up.

We hope these characters motivate you to practise a higher-than- regular level of hygiene in the COVID-19 time. Even as you stay indoors, maintaining a clean environment is important and these neat freak characters will certainly help you get on with it. If you have any favourite characters who would ace the hand-washing challenge and make even COVID-19 nervous with their hygiene, do tell us in comments below.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 17, 2020 07:16 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).