The Science of Social Distancing
It’s Much More Than Keeping Our Distance, Covid-19 might have a long-term effect on the way we think about Personal Space
Origins
Since the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak, many guidelines changed. Masks were initially advised against, and then for. Gloves were regarded as an essential accessory by many at first, and later even considered as causing more harm than gain by some experts. Stay at home orders changed to carefully go out. Besides washing our hands and practicing hygiene (always good advice), the only major guideline that survived these past months is social distancing. Seemingly, a simple enough request, but it is a lot more complex than it might seem.
According to WHO guides a distance of at least 1 meter (3 feet) is required between one person and the other. The logic goes that if you are too close, you can breathe in the droplets originated by an infected person coughing, sneezing, or speaking. These droplets might contain the Covid-19 virus.
The 3 feet rule was first recommended in the 1930s, based on a study done by William Wells from the Harvard School of Public Health. Wells researched tuberculosis and found that infected droplets tend to land within 3 feet of the place they originated in. Since then, the same findings were observed with the flu, SARS, and MERS. And so the 3-feet rule…
