Social distancing

[8][9] To slow down the spread of infectious diseases and avoid overburdening healthcare systems, particularly during a pandemic, several social-distancing measures have been used, including the closing of schools and workplaces, isolation, quarantine, restricting the movement of people and the cancellation of mass gatherings.

In St. Louis, shortly after the first cases of influenza were detected in the city during the 1918 flu pandemic, authorities implemented school closures, bans on public gatherings and other social-distancing interventions.

[6][7] Social distancing, combined with the use of face masks, good respiratory hygiene and hand washing, is considered the most feasible way to reduce or delay a pandemic.

[27] The WHO's one-metre recommendation stems from research into droplet-based transmission of tuberculosis by William F. Wells, which had found that droplets produced by exhalation, coughs, or sneezes landed an average of 3 ft (0.9 m) from where they were expelled.

[28][29][30] Quartz speculated that the U.S. CDC's adoption of 6 ft (1.8 m) may have stemmed from a study of SARS transmission on an airplane, published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, this gesture was used by Prince Charles upon greeting reception guests, and has been recommended by the Director-General of the WHO, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

[41] Other alternatives include the popular thumbs up gesture, the wave, the shaka (or "hang loose") sign, and placing a palm on one's heart, as practiced in parts of Iran.

[43][44] Modeling and simulation studies based on U.S. data suggest that if 10% of affected workplaces are closed, the overall infection transmission rate is around 11.9% and the epidemic peak time is slightly delayed.

[56][57] A Northeastern University study published in March 2020 found that "travel restrictions to and from China only slow down the international spread of COVID-19 [when] combined with efforts to reduce transmission on a community and an individual level.

[59] Shielding measures for individuals include limiting face-to-face contacts, conducting business by phone or online, avoiding public places and reducing unnecessary travel.

[60][61][62] During the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, shielding referred to special advisory measures put in place by the UK Government to protect those at the highest risk of serious illness from the disease.

This included those with weakened immune systems (such as organ transplant recipients), as well as those with certain medical conditions such as cystic fibrosis or severe asthma.

Until 1 June 2020, those shielding were strongly advised not to leave home for any reason at all, including essential travel, and to maintain a 2 m (6.6 ft) distance from anyone else in their household.

[citation needed] During the 2003 SARS outbreak in Singapore, approximately 8000 people were subjected to mandatory home quarantine and an additional 4300 were required to self-monitor for symptoms and make daily telephone contact with health authorities as a means of controlling the epidemic.

[26] It is important for public health authorities to follow disease trends closely to re-implement appropriate social distancing policies, including stay-at-home orders, if secondary COVID-19 waves appear.

Inside Kikwit, the World Health Organization and Zaire's medical teams erected further cordons sanitaires, isolating burial and treatment zones from the general population and successfully containing the infection.

[71] Other measures include shutting down or limiting mass transit[72] and closure of sport facilities (community swimming pools, youth clubs, gymnasiums).

[74] Leper colonies and lazarettos were established as a means of preventing the spread of leprosy and other contagious diseases through social distancing,[75] until transmission was understood and effective treatments invented.

[15] Unlike Philadelphia, St. Louis experienced its first cases of influenza on 5 October and the city took two days to implement several social distancing measures,[15] including closing schools, theatres, and other places where people get together.

It was observed that several cities experienced a second epidemic peak after social distancing controls were lifted, because susceptible individuals who had been protected were now exposed.

[86] Similarly, mandatory school closures and other social distancing measures were associated with a 29% to 37% reduction in influenza transmission rates during the 2009 flu epidemic in Mexico.

[88] A mandatory nationwide school closure enacted in Mexico, which lasted for 18 days from late April 2009 to early May 2009, was a form of social distancing aimed at reducing the transmission of Swine flu.

[89] A study from 2011 found the mandatory nationwide school closure and other forms of social distancing in Mexico were effective at reducing influenza transmission rates.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing and related measures are emphasized by several governments as alternatives to an enforced quarantine of heavily affected areas.

[97] With many people disbelieving that COVID-19 is any worse than the seasonal flu,[98] it has been difficult to convince the public—particularly youth, and the anti vaxx community to voluntarily adopt social distancing practices.

New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania were the first states to adopt coordinated social distancing policies which closed down non-essential businesses and restricted large gatherings.

[107] In early March 2020, the sentiment "Stay Home" was coined by Florian Reifschneider, a German engineer and was quickly echoed by notable celebrities such as Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande[108][109] and Busy Philipps[110] in hopes of reducing and delaying the peak of the outbreak.

Facebook, Twitter and Instagram also joined the campaign with similar hashtags, stickers and filters under #staythefhome, #stayhome, #staythefuckhome and began trending across social media.

[26][117] Psychologist Lennis Echterling noted that, in such social distancing situations, using technology for "connection with loved ones...is imperative" to combat isolation, for the sake of one's well-being.

where: Using COVID-19 as an example, the following table shows the infection spread given: An empirical study published in July 2020 in The BMJ (British Medical Journal) analyzed data from 149 countries, and reported an average of 13% reduction in COVID-19 incidence after the implementation of social distancing policies.