Namaste Instead of Kissing? How Coronavirus is Changing People’s Greetings Routine

While the Wuhan-originated virus currently remains one of the hottest topics in the world, despite a relatively low death rate and a slower transmission speed than any seasonal flu, it has already brought some fundamental changes to existing rules of etiquette – particularly, by preventing people from kissing each other.

Elbow-bumping, Asian Namaste bowing or feet-tapping: these are just few greeting alternatives that may soon emerge to substitute traditional handshakes and cuddles as world authorities go on the warpath against the China-originated coronavirus that has already taken the lives of around 3,000 people worldwide.

Here is a list of some virus-related recommendations some officials have recently outlined to prevent the spread of the infection.

• Who would have thought that someone would ever dare to try and stop French people from kissing each other? Yet, “the reduction in social contacts of a physical nature” was highly advised by French Health Minister Olivier Veran last week. “That includes the practice of the bise [kiss]”, the official said.

A man wears a face mask on the Trocadero esplanade in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, February 26, 2020

© REUTERS / CHARLES PLATIAU

Similar recommendations have been issued by New South Wales' Health Minister Brad Hazzard, who encouraged Australian people to pat each other on the back instead of a handshake, as well as being cautious about those whom they decide to kiss.

Italy remains the European country most affected by coronavirus, with the death toll passing 100 people out of 3,000 infected. However, last month the authorities stopped short of forbidding any physical contact between people due to the country's “very florid” social life. Instead, they simply advised people to become “less expansive” in their communications and avoid shaking hands.

Meanwhile, German interior minister Horst Seehofer was not scared of risking his reputation when he declined a handshake from Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday. Instead of a harsh reaction to this apparent rudeness, Merkel just laughed. “It is the right thing to do”, the chancellor said in response, while praising the minister’s new coronavirus-inspired approach to etiquette.

However, life has appeared to be even more absent of greetings and contact in Wuhan, the city that has been at the centre of the virus outbreak that has led to 80,000 confirmed cases of infection in China alone. Wuhan has been closed off since late January, and its 11 million inhabitants have experienced an unprecedented quarantine, staying in their home compounds with permission to shop for necessities once every several days. While the city's population was not explicitly advised against engaging in any kind of personal contact – it looks like now they don’t even have much opportunity for it. 

A closed supermarket is seen after the local government's announcement for supermarkets to stop selling to individuals, in Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak, Hubei province, China February 23, 2020

© REUTERS / STRINGER