With pandemic fatigue increasing, public health experts are reminding people of the importance of using personal safety precautions in an unusual metaphor: cheese.
The Swiss Cheese Model uses slices of cheese to visualize how interventions work together to prevent transmission of infections. Each intervention — including physical distancing, mask wearing, hand washing and disinfecting — is depicted as an imperfect barrier to virus transmission by the holes in the cheese. By putting the slices together, we minimize risk.