Social distancing

Social distancing, also less confusingly called physical distancing is one way to help stop the spread of infection from viruses and bacteria between people. The goal is to lower the chance for an infection to spread from person to person. This can reduce the number of infected people at one time, which lowers the burden on health care. By lowering the number of people who get sick, lives can also be saved.Pandemic Planning – Social Distancing Fact Sheet

Social distancing works for infections that are spread by droplets (cough or sneeze), physical contact, contaminated surfaces, or in the air."Information about Social Distancing" , Santa Clara Public Health Department. Social distancing does not work well for infections that are spread through food, water, or insects."Interim Pre-Pandemic Planning Guidance: Community Strategy for Pandemic Influenza Mitigation in the United States—Early, Targeted, Layered Use of Nonpharmaceutical Interventions", CDC, February 2007

Types of social distancing are:
 closing schools
 closing places of work
 isolation
 quarantine
 cordon sanitaire
 protective sequestration
 canceling gatherings of people, such as sports or entertainment shows
 travel restrictions
 closing gyms, pools, or other such areas
 encouraging people to stay at home
 asking people to keep a certain distance between each other if they do need to interact

All of these may have negative effects on people.Emily Arntsen, "Closing borders can delay, but can't stop the spread of COVID-19, new report says", News@Northeastern, March 6, 2020. However, these may be preferred to the effects of a specific disease.

 References 

 Other websites 

 Harry Stevens, "Why outbreaks like coronavirus spread exponentially, and how to 'flatten the curve'" , The Washington Post, 14 March 2020, "These simulations show how to flatten the coronavirus growth curve"

Category:Infectious diseases
Category:Epidemiology
Category:Medicine