page_title: COVID-19 pandemic
section_title: Social distancing
hierarchical_section_title: COVID-19 pandemic / Prevention / Social distancing
caption_attribution_description: English: Customers waiting to enter Shoppers Drug Mart in Toronto in April 2020
context_page_description: The COVID‑19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The outbreak was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30 January 2020 and a pandemic on 11 March. As of 30 August 2020, more than 25 million cases of COVID‑19 have been reported in more than 188 countries and territories, resulting in more than 843,000 deaths; more than 16.4 million people have recovered.
  The virus is spread primarily via nose and mouth secretions including small droplets produced by coughing, sneezing, and talking. The droplets usually do not travel through air over long distances. However, those standing in close proximity may inhale these droplets and become infected. People may also become infected by touching a contaminated surface and then touching their face. The transmission may also occur through smaller droplets that are able to stay suspended in the air for longer periods of time in enclosed spaces.
context_section_description: Social distancing (also known as physical distancing) includes infection control actions intended to slow the spread of disease by minimising close contact between individuals. Methods include quarantines; travel restrictions; and the closing of schools, workplaces, stadiums, theatres, or shopping centres. Individuals may apply social distancing methods by staying at home, limiting travel, avoiding crowded areas, using no-contact greetings, and physically distancing themselves from others. Many governments are now mandating or recommending social distancing in regions affected by the outbreak. Non-cooperation with distancing measures in some areas has contributed to the further spread of the pandemic.
  The maximum gathering size recommended by U.S. government bodies and health organisations was swiftly reduced from 250 people (if there were no known COVID-19 spread in a region) to 50 people, and later to 10. On 22 March 2020, Germany banned public gatherings of more than two people. A Cochrane review found that early quarantine with other public health measures are effective in limiting the pandemic, but the best manner of adopting and relaxing policies are uncertain, as local conditions vary.
  Older adults and those with underlying medical conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, respiratory disease, hypertension, and compromised immune systems face increased risk of serious illness and complications and have been advised by the CDC to stay home as much as possible in areas of community outbreak.
  In late March 2020, the WHO and other health bodies began to replace the use of the term "social distancing" with "physical distancing", to clarify that the aim is to reduce physical contact while maintaining social connections, either virtually or at a distance. The use of the term "social distancing" had led to implications that people should engage in complete social isolation, rather than encouraging them to stay in contact through alternative means. Some authorities have issued sexual health guidelines for the pandemic, which include recommendations to have sex only with someone you live with, and who does not have the virus or symptoms of the virus.
caption: Physical distancing in Toronto, with a limited number of customers allowed inside a store
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