Currently, as of March 24, 2020, social distancing is the only defense against the local and the global spread of the COVID-19 virus. The virus is spreading like a wildfire, because social distancing is contrary to the ethos of humankind. For this reason, COVID-19 is a war against humanity, and each and every person is a soldier. Not only are we fighting against this extraordinarily contagious affliction, we are also coping with maintaining a strong defense against it. Do you have a scientific and/or social opinion or a question about the discussion topic, which is "Social Distancing"?
Put distance between yourself and other people if COVID-19 is spreading in your community. People should stay at home. Government should take necessary steps like Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada did..
Social distancing in public means people must stay at home unless is absolutely necessary; keep 1.5 metres away from others; avoid physical greetings such as handshaking, hugs and kisses; use tap and pay instead of cash; travel at quiet times and avoid crowds; avoid public gatherings and at risk groups; practice good hygiene.
Social distancing on one hand, more time spent with the family on the other...(and busy people seem to sorely need the latter)
Not bad at all, in my opinion.
I have noticed that social exchange has lost its depth and appeal of late, anyway. Many people have shifted priorities to superficial, material and personal advancement goals - none of which is a good conversation topic.
The "togetherness" and constructive idea-related bits are somewhat missing from the discourse. :)
Mohammod Hossain ,
Thank you very much for the wonderful photograph of Canada's President Trudeau! I admire his high morale during this crisis, when his wife may have tested positive in recent days. With good medical care administered at home, she should make a full recovery and observing social distancing to avoid affecting other persons who might be more vulnerable to serious symptoms.
Mohammod Hossain ,
I am grateful to you for listing the important ways to avoid getting COVID-19.
Best regards.
Dear Valeria Tananska ,
I appreciate your commentary on how this pandemic is forcing human society to get back to the basics of genuine family life without external pressures imposed by "social division of labor" where family members become stressed by their jobs, making money, getting ahead, work schedules, after school activities, etc. Instead of using "body language" to "socialize," now we must rely on our verbal language skills to understand other individuals and to be understood. Although this change in our behavior appears to be less humanistic, it is definitely more scientific, and in my perspective, ultimately and essentially more humanistic! Best regards.
I would like to update my premise in view of several articles I have read on the Internet, which indicate that China's epidemic is coming under control not only through medical treatment, social distancing, and border control. China is knowledgeable about how COVID-19 began in the first place, and therefore, is taking appropriate action to stop the "first cause," as the following excerpt from one of the Internet articles affirms:
Several articles trace COVID-19 to human consumption of wild animals in China, which is caused by poverty. Bush people catch and butcher wild animals to sell at open air markets in town, which is against the law in China. Here is an excerpt:
"A ban on eating wildlife has been instigated by China in response to the pandemic that started in a Wuhan “wet” market. “We have long recognized the risks of consuming wildlife, but the game industry is still huge and poses a major public health hazard,” said President Xi Jinping in February. “No more indifference! I have given instructions on the subject. Relevant departments should strengthen law enforcement, strengthen market supervision, resolutely ban and crack down on illegal wildlife markets and trade, resolutely eradicate the bad habit of indiscriminate eating of wildlife and control major public health risks at the source.”
At wet markets, legal and illegally traded animals are crammed into cages in unhygienic and stressful conditions awaiting slaughter and sale. Peer-reviewed science has demonstrated that the virus may have originated in Chinese horseshoe bats and been passed via an intermediate wildlife host to humans while in close proximity in wet markets. The species that acted as an intermediate host has not been identified for certain, although one research group in China has suggested it may be pangolins."
Bats, pangolins, pigeons, and other wild animals carry many different viruses. Poor people do not know any better, and moreover, they are hungry and they want to get some money in any way they can. When they bring exotic looking animals to market, shoppers, too, do not have much education. It is easy to see why so many different viruses have started epidemics that begin in poverty-stricken countries. Tourists may naively be amused and ready to spend money to help the local people, whom they photograph as part of the "local color," without doing any research about the local culture! We, too, are learning so much more everyday about global culture.
An interesting adverse effect of social isolation for the Covid-19 pandemic has arisen. There has been a dramatic fall in the number of blood donors in Saudi Arabia a result of social isolation during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Supplies of blood are being depleted. This is likely to be a global phenomenon
Patients may die as a result of not being transfused blood severe acute bleeding due to stress ulceration, for example. If the patient has severe or critical Covid-19, the cause of death is actually the Covid-19 but it is likely to be coded as GI tract bleeding.
Lies, damned lies and statistics as Disraeli said. It will be impossible to unpick the true effect of Covid-19 on patient outcomes.
Rajkumar Rajendram ,
Thank you for your reply. Saudi Arabia has only 16 fatalities---I say "only" but every life is precious---while Italy's death toll is 10,000 and rising, as in many other countries. Here in America, 254 deaths and rising, with healthy persons being encouraged to give blood at special blood donor places not in hospitals. Social distancing is still the best way to avoid infection, and hospitals are being equipped to specialize in treating COVID-19 patients, with large arenas, stadiums, and open acreage being set up, often by uniformed military personnel, both men and women, to serve as makeshift hospitals for patients who urgently need care for other ailments. The worst problem is faced by health care workers, nurses and doctors who must have regular and direct contact with COVID-19 patients.
Again, thank you for sharing your viewpoint. I sincerely hope that your physicians are keeping a true and accurate record and not swayed by politics!
On the international level, national leaders appear to be setting aside political differences in order to stop the spread of COVID-19 and to help countries that are hardest hit. For example, yesterday, Russia sent the world's largest air transport plane loaded with 1.7 tons of medical supplies to the USA. Putin responded saying he "wants to help America" when he saw Trump's televised announcement to the American people of the virus tracking an upward arc that will peak at 100,000 in 2 weeks. Inside the USA, men and women ambulance drivers are driving to New York City (with 9 million people living very close together comprise 60% of USA fatalities) to help bring all of the patients to the appropriate facilities. China, which is recovering quickly after social distancing, including airport and border closings, is sending medical supplies to Italy and France.
The neglect of the effects of this dilemma is social traditions that require peace by hand and may even spoil the people you meet in many places, for example the supermarkets.
On the Messenger of God, may God bless him and his family, said:
(If you heard of it on land, do not do it,
And if it falls to the land while you are on it, do not go out to escape it)
An American magazine confirmed in its report, what was published by "Gulf Online" in advance, about the contribution of the teachings of the Islamic religion in limiting the spread of "Corona".
https://alkhaleejonline.net/%D9%85%D8%AC%D8%AA%D9%85%D8%B
The depleted blood supplies could cause significant potential harm to patients without Covid.
If insufficient blood of the correct type is available a woman may die as a result of not being transfused blood for severe acute bleeding following delivery of a child, for example. This will be most challenging for patients with rare blood groups.
This situation will be most challenging for patients with rare blood groups.
I would therefore be grateful if we could consider the answer to this question:
How can we maintain supplies of blood for transfusion during the Covid-19 pandemic?
https://www.researchgate.net/post/How_can_we_maintain_supplies_of_blood_for_transfusion_during_the_Covid-19_pandemic
To control the Covid-19 pandemic effectively, healthcare professionals and the public must hear and accept difficult truths.
Transmission of the virus can not be stopped it can only be delayed to allow healthcare systems to cope with the increased demand on services. So please preserve respirator face masks for healthcare professionals who must care for patients infected with SARS-CoV-2.
Unfortunately, rather than being honest; authorities have repeatedly changed advice about the need to wear facemasks. As a result, healthcare professionals and the public can no longer trust what is being said. The mistrust has been fuelled by conflicting messages for healthcare professionals and the general public.
In the current situation the only safe thing for anyone to do is to try to wear facemasks that provide the best protection. The real difficulty is that the best medical grade respirator face masks are in extremely short supply. Healthcare professionals, putting their lives on the line, need these masks to protect themselves from their infected patients.
Up to 25% of healthcare professionals in the UK are either off work due to sickness or because of suspected exposure. Excess deaths occur when healthcare systems can not care for patients who need treatment. The more healthcare workers who go off sick, the less care sick patients can receive.
The public can be protected by social distancing. As an intensivist I do not have this option, I must get very near to patients to look after them. I will be honest; respirator face masks do protect people from transmission of Covid-19. Cloth face masks are unlikely to protect uninfected people but are likely to reduce spread of virus from those infected with SARS-CoV-2. Not going near patients with Covid-19 is more effective. I therefore ask the public to fully engage with social distancing and preserve the medical grade face masks for healthcare professionals who do not have this option.
Latest studies and researches say that there must be approx.12 feet distance among persons to stop the covid19 virus in communities. But, this method is not sufficient to stop the spreading virus across the world. We have to take more steps, which I think (given below)
Respected Dr. Nancy Ann Watanabe madam, Thanks for this nice discussion. my above comments are normal, whatever i think, I just write.
it is possible to develop monetary estimates of the benefits of social distancing and other policy responses to COVID-19 as they emerge ...
Greenstone, M., & Nigam, V. (2020). Does Social Distancing Matter?. University of Chicago, Becker Friedman Institute for Economics Working Paper, (2020-26).
Case of India...
Singh, R., & Adhikari, R. (2020). Age-structured impact of social distancing on the COVID-19 epidemic in India. arXiv preprint arXiv:2003.12055.
Motivating social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic...
Lunn, P. D., Timmons, S., Barjaková, M., Belton, C. A., Julienne, H., & Lavin, C. (2020). Motivating social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic: An online experiment.
... social distancing will impact cities …
Stier, A., Berman, M., & Bettencourt, L. (2020). COVID-19 attack rate increases with city size. Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation Research Paper Forthcoming.
mental health implications...
Venkatesh, A., & Edirappuli, S. (2020). Social distancing in covid-19: what are the mental health implications?. Bmj, 369.
… The effectiveness and societal impact of quarantine and social distancing will depend on the credibility of public …
Lewnard, J. A., & Lo, N. C. (2020). Scientific and ethical basis for social-distancing interventions against COVID-19. The Lancet. Infectious diseases.
D A Gayan Nayanajith ,
Thank you very much for sharing on this thread six articles published in 2020 in medical journals and economics research, including The Lancet, Bmj, Becker Friedman Institute for Economics Working Paper, and others, which provide scientific information showing the importance of Social Distancing during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Strict implementation of lockdown is urgent. Mass screening is not possible for many countries.
It's only gap between persons. Most of us failed to maintain it properly. It's roaring again.