Leaving the US tomorrow to DOH then on to an African country after a 10 hour layover. I am staying in the airside hotel and ordering room service and I will not use the Business class lounge even though I have access.
I do have respirator masks with me(sister purchased them before they were sold out and they do work against viruses). We are both in the medical field.
Although masks are largely helpful for preventing people from touching their faces, most do not offer a lot of protection.
Best advice I have is to wear disposable gloves AND to wipe down all surfaces you come in contact with using a high grade medical disinfectant wipe which can be found on the internet. I have some from PDI if that is helpful to anyone. There are likely other companies that sell these products as well.
And yes, frequent and thorough hand washing IS still the best way to avoid contamination.
Airplane seat headrests are not usually thought as being the worst contaminated areas on a plane but recent results indicated that they are worse than the usual suspects of tray tables, seat belts, seat pockets and lavatory handles.
Safe travels to all no matter where you go.