"What is it?
Social distancing, also known as physical distancing, is the
practice of maintaining physical distance from others and avoiding large
gatherings, with the intent of reducing the rate of transmission of infectious
diseases. COVID-19 has brought social distancing practices to the
forefront worldwide as a means of controlling local spread of the disease.
How does it work?
Practicing social distancing reduces the rate of new
infections by limiting person-to-person transmission. This in turn can
“flatten the curve,” by reducing the peak number of patients to levels the
health care system can better manage, ultimately saving lives (fig. 1).
The success of social distancing depends on factors such as the distance
that infectious particles can spread from a contagious person. The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) currently recommends
a 2 meter (about 6 feet) separation between people, while the World
Health Organization (WHO) recommends 1 meter (about 3 feet).
The scientific basis for these recommendations comes from studies
in fields such as fluid mechanics, epidemiology, and microbiology. For
example, several studies estimated the velocity and distance traveled by
droplets of different sizes expelled by sneezing, coughing, and breathing.
These studies showed that sneezing and coughing can propel droplets
more than 2 meters, with sneezing possibly propelling them further, and
breathing less than 1 meter (fig. 2)..."
Social distancing
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