Social Distancing During Pandemics

"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