In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, chances are that you’ve heard about safe “social distancing.”
Additionally, social distance has recently taken on a bit of a buzzword status in the Philippines. It is now normal to read about it online, hear about it on the news, or even see your favorite influencers or celebrities discussing the value of social distance.
But what exactly does it mean, how exactly does it contribute to the prevention of further outbreaks, and how can we do it? Here’s all that you need to know about social distancing in the Philippines.
What Exactly Is Safe Social Distancing?
In a nutshell, social distancing is quite literally distancing yourself from other people. Keeping a fair distance or staying at home and avoiding other people have been proven to be important steps when it comes to slowing down the spread of disease.
The scope of social distancing includes practices such as the following:
- Keeping at least 6 feet of distance from another person
- Working from home instead of working at the office
- Suspending classes temporarily, or holding online classes
- Canceling large events or gatherings
- Avoiding public transportation, or keeping your distance while on public transportation
- Staying at home in order to avoid contact with other people
- Avoiding visitors as much as possible
- Avoiding public places such as malls, restaurants, or bars
- Avoiding any activity or situation that brings you in close proximity with other people
Social distancing is an easy way for most people to avoid getting themselves or their loved ones infected by the virus. By avoiding people, you reduce your chances of being unwell and perhaps spreading the illness to others. It is important to note that many of us could be asymptomatic carriers.
It can also have an even greater impact if a large amount of the population engages in it. Social distancing helps keep the number of cases low, “Flattening the curve,” as some experts have put it.
Why Does Social Distancing Work?
You’ve probably heard of people on social media talking about “flattening the curve” through social distancing. But what exactly does it mean?
The “curve” that people are talking about is essentially the number of COVID-19 cases that will happen over time. A high curve means that there will be an extremely large number of cases over a shorter period of time, and a flatter curve means that those cases will be more spread out over a longer period of time.
Basically, instead of our health system being flooded with hundreds of cases all at once over a short period of time, if we “flatten the curve” those hundreds of cases can happen over a longer period of time, which means that it can better be managed by our hospitals.
The less congested our hospitals are, the better the care that can be given to patients who have tested positive for the virus.
Social distancing can help “flatten the curve” since it slows down the number of people who are getting infected. It might not prevent a lot of cases from happening, but it makes it more manageable, especially since scientists are still trying to figure out how to treat it better, as well as finding a cure for the virus.
However, social distancing isn’t the be-all and end-all when it comes to stopping COVID-19. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that governments around the world engage in testing as much as possible, since this helps identify which people need to be isolated and treated in order to prevent them from spreading the disease even further.
