Gonzalo Sánchez
03/05/2020 - 15:00
- Clarín.com
- Society
The Argentines and the kiss. Great topic. We are often reminded of those visitors who arrive in Ezeiza for the first time. They are fascinated by two strangers kissing on the cheek. The mate also contradicts them: they do not understand the intimacy of the rite, they are scandalized by the silver bulb where the flows of each other converge. We are a society with a tendency to contact: to hug, to affection, to tango, to exchange. But all that culture of the encounter seems to be threatened by the advance of the coronavirus. Faced with this, what to do?
The first: normal life. As before COVID-19. Greet with a kiss, accept a mate, shake hands. Nothing is for now forbidden, nor does it represent in itself a risky behavior. The main request of the health authorities is to maintain hygiene conditions: wash your hands, disinfect environments.
"Argentina does not register local transmission of the virus. Despite this, the country is on high alert to raise awareness of epidemiological surveillance," said the Ministry of Health. "It is in the containment phase to detect suspicious cases early, ensure isolation, provide adequate care to patients and implement research, prevention and control measures to reduce the risk of dissemination of infection in the population" . So? The kisses?
"Today we have the same situation as always: we must maintain hygiene in general terms to prevent any infectious infectious disease. But that does not imply that you do not have to kiss or shake hands," says Dr. Daniel López Rosetti. "But that condition - he adds - could happen if there is an extended circulating virus situation and it is credited as a sanitary norm to avoid interpersonal contact."
The specialist recalls that during the epidemic of Influenza A, which arrived in Argentina in 2009, to avoid and reduce infections, different shows and events were canceled. A key measure, in addition, was that some schools advanced the beginning of winter vacations. For now, the situation is different.
"The virus reaches by sneezing or coughing up to six feet away. They are two meters, according to WHO regulations. But today, normal life. And yes be attentive to the ordinances of the authorities, which could include that condition of not kissing or avoid for a while rounds of mate if a circulating virus scenario is unleashed. Today does not happen, "Rosetti insists.
The hasty court
The first controversy around contact and especially of mate, began in Argentina long before the first case of coronavirus in the country was known. On January 19, when the epidemic was still encapsulated in Asia, the Department of Preventive and Labor Medicine of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation issued an instruction to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Among the advice to their employees they suggested "not to drink mate".
Yerba mate.
Due to the impact of these measures, the Argentine Infectious Society came out to contradict the judicial entity. He considered that the measure was "exaggerated." In the SADI networks, they clarified: "Argentina is not in a situation of epidemic outbreak due to coronavirus, so these indications are not based on local epidemiological evidence," they wrote from their Twitter account. End of the controversy.
Greetings to the world
However, the global wave of the coronavirus caused that in different places of the plant where the cases were triggered, measures have been taken against kisses and greetings. In Beijing, red signs ask people not to exchange handshakes but to join their own in greeting . For loudspeakers, it is recommended to make the traditional gong shou gesture, palm in the fist, to say "hello". Another alternative: the "touch of elbow".
x
In Iran, where the motto "I don't shake your hand because I love you" multiplies, a way of greeting each other is developed (in the Islamic Republic it is not convenient to shake hands between people of opposite sexes) which consists in advancing the fist closed towards the other, which does the same without the two fists coming into contact. A viral video on social networks shows three men, two of whom wear a mask and have their hands in their pockets, who greet each other happily touching each other's feet: the "footshake" .
For a few days, French newspapers abound in advice about new behaviors to adopt to replace hand shakes and kisses. Recalling that the greeting is relatively recent, from the Middle Ages and also very western , an expert in manners interviewed in various media, Philippe Lichtfus, insists on the importance of "looking" at the person who greets.
The Ministry of Health recommended that Brazilians not share the metal bulbs used to drink the traditional mate, or chimarrao, a popular drink in South America. The kiss, "even if it's not in the mouth," is also totally inadvisable.
In New Zealand, several institutions abandoned the "hongi" , a traditional Maori greeting in which two people stick their nose and forehead. The WelTec Polytechnic University of Wellington replaced the "hongi" for the "waiata", a Maori song, for the welcome ceremony for the new students. To give an example of the new health and social behaviors, German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer on Monday refused to shake hands with Chancellor Angela Merkel. They both laughed.
Just over a month of Holy Week, kisses to the Virgin could be banned. "It is one of the measures on the table," according to a head of Health, Fernando Simón. During Holy Week, primarily in Spain, Catholic processions are held throughout the country, where thousands of faithful rush to touch, particularly, the hands and feet of the Virgin or the saints to ask for protection.
In Romania, fear of the coronavirus runs the risk of spoiling the celebration of International Women's Day, this Sunday. The Secretary of State in Health, Nelu Tataru, advised men not to kiss women more than those who offer a bouquet of flowers and a lucky charm (the "Martisor"), as tradition dictates in early spring . "We offer flowers, but no kisses," he recommended.
For its part, the powerful Orthodox Church authorized the faithful to stop embracing icons in churches and use a disposable spoon for communion.
The "Footshake" is also imposed in Lebanon, where a viral video shows the singer Ragheb Alama and the comedian Michel Abou Sleiman, glad to kick his feet four times making the sound of a kiss with his mouth. and New South Wales state health minister Brad Hazzard invited Australians to "pat themselves instead of shaking hands."
