Importance of human touch: The coronavirus is stopping the handshake … but the 'footshake' is taking its place
on
Get link
Facebook
X
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps
Vicky McKeever
3-4 minutes
Tanzanian
President John Magufuli (right) greets opposition politician Maalim
Seif Sharif Hamad (left) by tapping their feet together in Zanzibar,
Tanzania on March 03, 2020.
Tanzanian Presidency/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Italy
is set to release new rules in an attempt to contain the spread of the
coronavirus, which includes advice telling people to avoid shaking hands
or hugging.
The country is one of the worst hit from the flu-like virus outside of China,
with a death toll of 107. The government is planning to close movie
theaters and ban public events across the country in a bid to curb the
spread of COVID-19.
Countries with more tactile greetings have
also been forced to forego tradition for hygiene reasons. A Maori tribe
in the New Zealand capital of Wellington has restricted its “hongi”
greeting, where people press their noses together and touch foreheads,
reported Radio New Zealand on Thursday.
The
United Arab Emirates Ministry of Health & Prevention also advised
its citizens, via an Instagram post, to avoid traditional nose-to-nose
greetings.
Even German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s
attempt to shake hands with her interior minister, Horst Seehofer, was
rejected at a meeting on Monday, amid growing fears regarding the
virus.
However, world leaders have already found a replacement for the handshake — the “footshake.”
Tanzania’s
President John Magufuli was pictured tapping feet with the leader of
the opposition party Maalim Seif Sharif Hamad earlier this week.
Meanwhile,
Mohammed Barkindo, secretary general of oil-producing group OPEC, was
videoed doing the footshake with the Russian Energy Minister Alexander
Novak.
In China, bumping feet has been dubbed the “Wuhan shake,”
named after the city at the epicenter of the virus outbreak, with videos
of the greeting going viral.
Sylvie Briand, director of the
pandemic and epidemic diseases department at the World Health
Organization, advocated alternative greetings like the footshake by
re-tweeting a cartoon which also included the Thai “wai” and bumping
elbows.
Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts has opted for the elbow
bump, encouraging people in the U.S. state to “exercise good hygiene
like washing your hands and other precautions,” adding that “simple
steps can make a big difference.”
There are now more than 95,200
cases of the new coronavirus and over 3,280 deaths across more than 70
countries globally, according to latest figures from the WHO.
In
addition to issuing advice around hygiene, many countries have imposed
travel restrictions, particularly on those coming from or planning to go
to countries that have been more affected by the virus.
Comments
Post a Comment