The latest report by the Department of Health-backed Australian FluTracking Team shows just 0.2 per cent of nearly 75,000 participants in its online survey last week had influenza-like illness.

That compares with a five-year average above 1.5 per cent for the same time of year.

As governments ease coronavirus-related restrictions, Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy has said Australians need to learn from the experience after previously becoming "a bit relaxed about hygiene".

Public Health Association of Australia chief executive Terry Slevin says while it was always known regular, thorough handwashing and social distancing could prevent flu and related transmissions, often the focus had been on vaccines and finding cures.

"Rates of flu have gone through the floor. Record low rates at the moment demonstrate the benefits of the kind of things we've been doing, driven by the COVID pandemic," he told AAP on Tuesday.

"It makes sense as we come out of this that we review what we've learnt. I expect we'll come to the realisation that we do need to refocus on some of those very basic public health measures, and hygiene and distance are two very obvious examples."

Professor Slevin said it would be "madness to go back to business as usual" and he believed stickers would remain on retail floors after the pandemic so people continue keeping their distance from each other.

But University of NSW social scientist Dr Holly Seale warns bad habits may return as the coronavirus threat recedes.

"Hand hygiene was pretty sub-optimal at the best of times," Dr Seale told AAP, citing past surveys showing about 30 or 40 per cent of people didn't wash their hands after using public toilets.

"How much people adhere to best hygiene practices beyond COVID-19 is yet to be determined and compliance may depend on whether you feel at risk or if an infection will have severe consequences for you."

She said more people were already "out and about" after reassessing the risk to their health.

Professor Murphy made his comments about hygiene when asked on Sunday about precautions recommended by the Australian Institute of Sport for sport to resume and if, for example, cricketers should use saliva to shine the ball.

"Even when the coronavirus is gone, that will have influences on influenza, colds, all sorts - gastro, all of those things," he said.

"So I don't think saliva to shine cricket balls is a good thing at all."

Among measures needed for "rebooting sport in a COVID-19 environment", the AIS bans sharing drink bottles or towels and deals with footballers' traditional methods of clearing their airways.

"Spitting and clearing of nasal/respiratory secretions on ovals or other sport settings must be strongly discouraged," it says.

Dr Seale said those "sort of behaviours are obvious ones to cut out".

And if Prof Slevin has his way, the "Wuhan shake" (foot tap) or elbow bump may replace the handshake forever.

Hand-shaking was a social practice that evolved over the ages from each party showing they "weren't carrying knives and going to stab each other" and - along with kissing on the cheek as a greeting - was not vital.

"Can we find a new way of achieving the same effect without the health risk?" he said.

Australian Associated Press