On Physical and Social Distancing: Reflections on Moving Just About Everything Online Amid Covid-19

摘要

On March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the spread of Covid-19 constituted a pandemic. It stated that that the virus was not just a threat to public health but also a crisis that would affect every sector of public life: "All countries must strike a fine balance between protecting health, minimizing economic and social disruption, and respecting human rights" [1]. In response to the pandemic, the WHO recommended physical distancing [2], maintaining a physical distance between people and reducing the number of times people come into close contact with one another. The WHO proposed the term physical distancing rather than social distancing because it is a physical distance that prevents transmission. In addition, the WHO suggested that as people practice physical distancing, they could stay socially connected via technology. Despite this push for physical distancing, social distancing has become the more common term. But the WHO's other suggestion became a reality: For months, people have been trying to maintain social connectivity via digital technology. And as a result of rapidly moving most of our social relations-work, education, family-online, videoconferencing systems are now being used more than ever.