Social distancing is one of the ways to slow down how fast the virus spreads. As it is very contagious, limiting the number of times that a new person gets infected will have a great effect on the number of people who are infected during a given period of time. The immediate goal is to limit the number of patients to within the capacities of hospitals. A further goal is to delay the sickness for as many people as possible in order to “buy time” for the advancement of medical science and the development of a vaccine and other drugs. Both goals lead to the likelihood of saving very many lives. This is called “flattening the curve“. Social distancing measures include:
- Staying at home as much as possible
- Staying at least two meters (six feet) from anyone else
- Washing or sanitizing hands before and after touching a “public” surface.
- Not touching one’s face except after hands are washed or sanitized.
- Cleaning surfaces that people may touch.
- Wearing a face mask outside.
The effects of social distancing, which can be substantial, might only manifest themselves up to around 14 days later.
For more on social distancing read Science and Social Distancing.
Wikimedia.org: Flatten the Curve
How canceled events and self-quarantines save lives, in one chart
A self-quarantine … is for the greater good
COVID-19 projections assuming full social distancing through May 2020
