MEASURES AND CONSEQUENCES OF MANAGING COVID-19 PANDEMIC: FROM PHYSICAL DISTANCE TO SOCIAL DISTANCE
MEASURES AND CONSEQUENCES OF MANAGING COVID-19 PANDEMIC: FROM PHYSICAL DISTANCE TO SOCIAL DISTANCE

Summary/Abstract: The first half of 2020 was marked by the COVID-19 pandemic. The measures taken by national governments included actions primarily aimed at stopping the spread of the virus and they were based on keeping a minimum distance between people. The term frequently used was maintaining the “social distance”, a concept well-known in psychology and sociology, but with a different content attributed by the main crisis communicators (physical distance). Unfortunately, during this period there a crisis caused by a real social distance between some groups was triggered, resulting in large protests, which evaded the recommendation to maintain physical distance and brought to the fore the danger of exacerbating the pandemic and the emergence of the second wave.The paper analyses the distinction between the two notions and concludes that physical distance is the solution for managing the health crisis, while social distance is a cause in itself of other crises that may become systemic.

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