Social Distancing - What is it and Why is it Important?

4/1/2020 (Permalink)

The crew at The AO House keeping their distance

There is a new buzz term flying around the media and internet: Social Distancing. It’s even becoming temporary law with some states and other countries imposing fines or even jail time for disobeying it. But why is this so important?

What is Social Distancing?

Social distancing is the act of keeping a safe distance away from everyone to avoid spreading of a disease. This has been determined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as 1.5 meters (or 6 feet). Viruses such as the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) spread through droplets from coughs, sneezes or even exhaling. For this reason the American government, working alongside WHO, have administered this rule nationwide.

Please remember our goal with this is information. Through information and knowledge we, as a community, can work together through this time. Don’t be fearful, be informed.

Why Has the Government Administered Social Distancing?

The goal of social distancing is to slow down the spread of COVID-19 so that our hospitals can handle the number of severe cases. This strand of the Coronavirus is highly contagious and therefore it spreads extremely quickly from person to person.

The reason for trying to slow down the spread of COVID-19 is so that they can “slow the curve”. If you haven’t heard this term before it refers to the number of people catching COVID-19.

Why Are We “Slowing The Curve”?

Life is precious. Coronavirus has a high hospitalisation rate compared to other known viruses including the common flu. This combined with it being highly contagious means that there is a likely chance of our hospitals being overcrowded. This means that it is possible that there may not be enough beds, or doctors and nurses to treat the extreme cases of COVID-19. But by slowing down the curve, we can hope to stretch it out, so that as people get better, more beds open up and more lives can be saved!

Please remember our goal with this is information. Through information and knowledge we, as a community, can work together through this time. Don’t be fearful, be informed.

OUR FINAL THOUGHT: PLEASE DO THIS

We at SERVPRO, please urge you and everyone in the community to keep to the social distancing guidelines given by WHO and the American government. It is our responsibility as citizens to work together, keeping our friends and family safe. This is a small price to pay to keep one another healthy.

Please share this article link with friends and family on your socials. There is power in education and information and we can work through this together.

Please do not be fearful, just be informed.