Photos: COVID-19 redefines personal space world over

In wake of the COVID-19, the concept of respecting personal space around the world has been redefined. In Italy, social distancing could qualify as an oxymoron, where walking arm-in-arm with friends, kissing neighbors in greeting and patting the heads of babies are part of the demonstrative culture. Whether acting under government orders or following basic public health advice, people all around the world are putting distance between themselves to keep the coronavirus at bay. The new rules of engagement call for maintaining a gap of one to two meters (or three to six feet) to prevent possible exposure when an infected individual coughs or speaks.

Updated on: Mar 20, 2020 5:48 PM IST

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Women speak to each other while maintaining social distance on a bench next to the Reformation Wall in Geneva. In wake of the COVID-19, the concept of respecting personal space around the world has been redefined. (Fabrice Coffrini / AFP)

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Enza Garzia (L) talks at a distance with Paola Albano, in central Rome. Social distancing could qualify as an oxymoron in Italy, where walking arm-in-arm with friends, kissing neighbors in greeting and patting the heads of babies are part of the demonstrative culture. (Alessandra Tarantino / AP)

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Pastors wearing face masks attend a service at the Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul. The increase in transmission of coronavirus cases has reinvented the concept of respecting personal space for tactile Italians, as well as for South Koreans, Filipinos, Americans, Spaniards and citizens of many other crowded parts of the world. (Ahn Young-joon / AP)

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Customers queue with shopping carts outside a local retail store in New York. Whether acting under government orders or following basic public health advice, people are putting distance between themselves to keep the coronavirus away. (Yuki Iwamura / AP)

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The new rules of engagement call for maintaining a gap of one to two metres (or three to six feet) to prevent possible exposure when an infected individual coughs or speaks. (Zsolt Czegledi / MTI via AP)

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A supermarket cashier waits for costumers behind a makeshift plastic curtain as a precaution against the spread of the new coronavirus in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Natacha Pisarenko / AP)

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People queue outside a shop to buy supplies in Barcelona, Spain. “I have seen a lot of discipline, solidarity and collaboration, and everybody understands that the first that falls will pull the others with him,’’ said Piero Emilio Vincenzi, owner of an appliance store near the Vatican. (Emilio Morenatti / AP)