{"id":523,"date":"2020-04-01T10:56:07","date_gmt":"2020-04-01T08:56:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/roladesocietalblog.com\/?p=523"},"modified":"2020-04-01T11:00:38","modified_gmt":"2020-04-01T09:00:38","slug":"no-kisses-and-handshakes-declaration-needed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/roladesocietalblog.com\/?p=523","title":{"rendered":"No kisses and handshakes, declaration needed"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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Last March 11 at 10 AM in the middle of the coronavirus crisis, I witnessed an irresponsible act, which at other times would have been normal or even impolite not to do so in France. On the bus for work, a middle-aged man showed his monthly ticket to the driver, leaned to the woman sitting on the front and gave her two kisses on the cheek. (In France, depending where you are, kisses can be two, three or four). That same day, I heard on the news that the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Since then there have been measures to combat its spread, such as lockdown, quarantine, testing, self-isolation and social distancing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A week before the mandatory social distancing, business premises where I worked had already \u201cno handshake\u201d signs. If handshake was discouraged, obviously \u201ckisses\u201d too. It\u2019s so obvious that they didn\u2019t think there would be a need for \u201cno kisses\u201d signs, but there should have been because, pre-coronavirus pandemic, kissing was a form of greeting in many European workplaces, particularly in France.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve all\nexperienced the \u201caccidental\u201d handshakes, hugs or cheek kisses during these\ntimes of the coronavirus.  Politicians,\nsuch as the US President Donald Trump, were seen shaking hands with several\npeople during their press conferences and hospital visits. Mr Trump was\nreported to have said, \u201cPeople come up to me, they shake hands, they put their\nhand out. It’s sort of a natural reflex, and we’re all getting out of it. All\nof us have that problem.\u201d  (https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2020\/03\/15\/how-the-new-coronavirus-could-change-our-behaviour<\/a>?).\nThere\u2019s no excuse for social irresponsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You have heard a lot how this virus originated in Wuhan, China last December, its victims, preventive measures, challenges for governments and health practitioners, etc\u2026 We have been advised to sanitise as often as possible, especially after touching money bills, guard or hand rails or light switches or lift buttons or anything that is touched by others in public places; no wonder supermarket and pharmacy shelves are still devoid of these products. Even alcohol bottles aren\u2019t easy to find. We\u2019re discouraged from stockpiling, but I bought enough supply of vinegar to last us for a year.  There is ample advice online on how to make the most of our time at home, from having a fitness routine to reading a book. I have opted to write a novel, and I am halfway through it . In France, we\u2019ve to carry a declaration when we go out; the on-the-spot fine is 200 euros per violation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Due to social distancing, almost all public gatherings have been cancelled. Why are elections being held during this pandemic? Why haven\u2019t these been postponed? The March 15 city mayoral election in France was odd and a bit entertaining. Citizens had to hand sanitise before and after voting, then volunteers disinfected every pen used; there was a television crew filming them. Australia and the USA also had elections last March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At home,\nspace distancing (recommended 1.5 M) wasn\u2019t easy, so we\u2019d imposed time\ndistancing instead. We\nate at different times; after a while, however, we decided to space out the\nchairs and have meals together.  This pandemic has changed our individual\nhabits, cultural ways, travel decisions, holiday preferences, etc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My students\nfound elbow or\/and foot bumping fun as a replacement for handshake. I wonder if\nthey\u2019ll continue to do this when we resume classes (I don\u2019t know when!). The\nmajority of language teachers for adults are freelancers, i.e. they get paid\nwhen they work. So, you can imagine what this pandemic has done to our\nlivelihood and the financial burden it has caused us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even in\nthis gloomy situation, let\u2019s practise patience, creativity, compassion,\naltruism across space and time. Even with time and social distances, we can\nstill reach out, help and support each other in coping with all sorts of\ndifficulties.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\nfancy contributing to coronavirus research without leaving your home, read the March\n27, 2020 issue of The Conversation https:\/\/theconversation.com\/citizen-science-how-you-can-contribute-to-coronavirus-research-without-leaving-the-house-134238<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have a special skill, give lessons free of charge, e.g., meditation, yoga, music, cooking, gymnastic, aerobics and sewing via Skype, WhatsApp or Facetime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Call, text\nor email relatives and friends regularly to show that you care for them. According\nto Dr C Singer, \u201chuman beings are social animals and our biological,\npsychological, and social systems evolved to thrive in collaborative networks\nof people. Some studies suggest that the impact of isolation and loneliness on\nhealth and mortality are of the same order of magnitude as such risk factors as\nhigh blood pressure, obesity, and smoking\u201d. If you want to know more, check his\nand his colleagues\u2019 research findings regarding the health effects of social isolation\nand loneliness on https:\/\/www.aginglifecarejournal.org\/health-effects-of-social-isolation-and-loneliness\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s stay\nsafe, healthy, patient, considerate, optimistic and responsible. We\u2019re all in\nthe same boat!  Worldwide statistics on\ninfections and deaths continue to rise. (COVID-19 death rate in countries with\nconfirmed deaths and over 1,000 reported cases as of March 31, 2020 by country https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/1105914\/coronavirus-death-rates-worldwide\/)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take care.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last March 11 at 10 AM in the middle of the coronavirus crisis, I witnessed an irresponsible act, which at other times would have been normal or even impolite not to do so in France. On the bus for work, a middle-aged man showed his monthly ticket to the driver, leaned to the woman sitting … Continue reading No kisses and handshakes, declaration needed<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-society"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/roladesocietalblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/roladesocietalblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/roladesocietalblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roladesocietalblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roladesocietalblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=523"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/roladesocietalblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":527,"href":"https:\/\/roladesocietalblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523\/revisions\/527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/roladesocietalblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roladesocietalblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roladesocietalblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}