As the coronavirus continues to spread rapidly across the globe, social distancing seems to be the order of the day in most countries affected by the outbreak. While experts agree on the fact that it’s too late to stop the pandemic in its tracks, slowing down the spread of the virus or “flattening the curve” is the number 1 objective of all most policy measures currently taken.
As the following chart shows, many people aren’t entirely sure what’s behind the buzzword and turn to Google to learn more. According to Google Trends data, worldwide search volume for the term has increased 100-fold, with “coronavirus social distancing” and “social distancing definition” the most popular search queries.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines social distancing as follows: “social distancing means remaining out of congregate settings, avoiding mass gatherings, and maintaining distance (approximately 6 feet or 2 meters) from others when possible.”
Experts consider it crucial at this point that people follow this advice, which is why some countries have implemented strict lockdowns after friendly recommendations didn’t do the trick.
