Social Distancing Could Be The New Norm

Maintaining a continuous 6-foot barrier around ourselves is nearly impossible, but after all of this, it seems like more people than ever will probably try. And it may change how we look at crowds, at least for a little while.

Professional sporting events are a blast, but the seats are so close together in most stadiums that your leg ends up being six inches away from the person next to you and you have to share an armrest.  After all of the things that we're going through and learning about with COVID-19, I'm wondering how we will ever be able to go back to our normal routines without thinking about respiratory droplets and things.

I've noticed that co-anchors on national TV morning shows have scooted their chairs further apart.  And people at meetings might want to sit with a vacant chair between them at the conference table for the next little while.  Oh, and I was out for a run a few days ago and one of my neighbors was walking his dog, and as I approached, he looped off the sidewalk into a wide semi-circle and got back on the straight path after I passed.  This might be the new social-distancing norm.  We weren't thinking about these things a month ago, and now we've got the social willies.

Once the peak of this virus passes, it will be interesting to see if the recovery includes more personal space in public places.  Social distancing may be here to stay.