Social Distancing

The best way to [a]void the flu is a wonderful term we call ‘social distancing’, which means basically to avoid being around other people.

If the avian flu goes pandemic while Tamiflu and vaccines are still in short supply, experts say, the only protection most Americans will have is “social distancing,” which is the new politically correct way of saying “quarantine.”

Social distancing means keeping people far enough apart that they can’t spread coronavirus. There are a few ways to do this:

• Cancel events where lots of people gather, like concerts, festivals, and conferences.
• Work from home.
• Keep kids out of school.
• Don’t travel by plane or train.
• Visit with family and friends by phone and computer instead of in person.
• Stand at least 6 feet away from people.
• Wear a mask in public
• Don’t hug or shake hands with anyone except your immediate family.
• Do your shopping, especially for groceries or drugstore items, online if possible. If you do have to shop in person, keep a 6-foot distance between yourself and others.

• There is currently no vaccine to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19).
• The best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to this virus.
• The virus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person.
• Between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet).
• Through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks.
• These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs.

Smaller droplets (less than 50 µm diameter) can remain suspended in the cloud long enough for the cough to reach heights where ventilation systems can be contaminated (4–6 m) [13–19 feet].

A human sneeze can eject droplets of fluid and potentially infectious organisms. […] The smaller and evaporating droplets are trapped in the turbulent puff cloud, remain suspended, and, over the course of seconds to a few minutes, can travel the dimensions of a room and land up to 6 to 8 m [19–26 feet] away.