Artificial fingernails

Our state has a mandatory 'no artificial nails' policy (NSW Australia).
The article on this link is just one of the many demonstrating that artificial nails are an active fomite.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2596731

I'm not sure nurses have a handle of how contaminated the environment is with organisms and that everything we touch is potentially contaminated by us. So artificial nails and long natural nails are going to be a problem.

I feel with good hand hygiene long nails are really a health hazard. My nails are kept meticulously clean. And it doesn't take much effort really.