Other terms that are popular nowadays are social and physical distancing. You will hear these words every day. It is applied to prevent people from getting contracted by virus. That’s why you see people are queuing in any public places with 1 – 2 meters separation.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has begun to use the term physical distancing as a way to avoid the wider spread of the corona virus. If you can’t stay at home, then you need to follow this recommendation to keep you safe.

This step is referred to as “the right direction” by experts. The spread of the new corona virus is relatively fast and has infected hundreds of countries. Various policies were carried out by each country that confirmed Covid-19 in their country, from the closure of the airport to the imposition of restrictions on the movement of its citizens. Al Jazeera launch, in a daily press conference March 20 last, officials of the global health agency said that maintaining physical distance is very important in the midst of a global pandemic that is still happening.

This step does not mean that socially, a person must cut ties and communication with loved ones or from his family. “Today, thanks to advanced technology, we can stay connected in various ways without actually being in the same room as other people physically,” WHO epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove said on March 20.

Maria said, WHO changed the term with physical distance or intentional physical distancing because they wanted people to stay connected. The corona virus is known to spread mainly through respiratory droplets, especially when infected people cough or sneeze. Therefore, maintaining a safe physical distance is recommended to reduce transmission.

Recommendations for distances of more than 1 meter WHO recommends keeping more than 1 meter from others. Meanwhile, some health experts recommend keeping a distance of at least two meters from others. A number of steps can be taken to increase physical space between people, including staying at home more, working from home if possible, restricting guests at home, avoiding large gatherings and public transportation.

“Social distancing or social distance sounds like people have to stop communicating with each other. Instead, we have to maintain as much community as can be maintained during physical distancing,” said Professor of Sociology at Stanford University, US, Jeremy Freese.

Freese added, physical distance is needed to protect everyone’s physical condition, but mental health is also important. Therefore, social isolation is not good for mental health. Also read: Corona Update in Indonesia: 1,528 Positive, Two Zero Provinces Case Professor of Social Psychology and Research Methodology at the London School of Economics Martin W Bauer welcomed the WHO’s change in the use of this terminology.

“From the beginning I thought that this was the wrong choice of language when talking about” social distance “. In fact, what was meant was actually” physical distance “or physical distance,” Bauer said. Bauer explained, physical distance is measured in metric meters or centimeters.

“This is the geographical distance from person A to person B, while social distance is a measure of distance across social boundaries,” Bauer added. According to Bauer, it is important to distinguish between these two terms. “In the” strange “times of the virus outbreak, we wanted clear physical distance, but at the same time, we wanted people to stay close to each other socially,” Bauer said.

Social and Physical Distancing Sign Template

To support WHO recommendations of separating people with proper distances, we have created templates where you can edit and print. It has A3 size. Once you complete your modification, you can print and stick it in your stores and area where people are gathering or queuing.

  Social Distancing Poster (91.3 KiB, 563 hits)

  Physical Distancing Poster (93.6 KiB, 481 hits)