Social distancing signs around the world show the new normal
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Splash
    • Videos
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Sunday
July 03, 2022

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Splash
    • Videos
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
SUNDAY, JULY 03, 2022
Social distancing signs around the world show the new normal

Coronavirus chronicle

Reuters
08 May, 2020, 04:10 pm
Last modified: 08 May, 2020, 04:14 pm

Related News

  • China's factory, service sectors shake off 3 months of lockdown pain
  • China slashes Covid quarantine time for international travellers
  • Shanghai's fashion stores struggle to clear lockdown stock hangover
  • Oil falls on demand worries over Shanghai's new partial lockdowns
  • Parts of Shanghai impose new Covid lockdown measures

Social distancing signs around the world show the new normal

As people emerge from weeks of lockdown, they face an array of new measures to try and keep the virus in check and protect society’s most vulnerable

Reuters
08 May, 2020, 04:10 pm
Last modified: 08 May, 2020, 04:14 pm
FILE PHOTO: A notice promoting social distancing as a preventive measure against the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) is posted on the floor at the entrance of the Syntagma square metro station, in Athens, Greece, May 4, 2020. The notice reads "I keep a distance, we move around responsibly, we stay safe. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis
FILE PHOTO: A notice promoting social distancing as a preventive measure against the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) is posted on the floor at the entrance of the Syntagma square metro station, in Athens, Greece, May 4, 2020. The notice reads "I keep a distance, we move around responsibly, we stay safe. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

They range from simple spray-painted circles on the ground in a Mogadishu market to bright and breezy floor stickers in a Dubai mall, which blow a kiss and urge: "Hey there beautiful, don't forget to keep a safe distance."

The markings that will oblige us to keep apart in busy social settings, in order to prevent transmission of the new coronavirus, are appearing on shop floors, city pavements and train or tram platforms the world over.

As people emerge from weeks of lockdown, they face an array of new measures to try and keep the virus in check and protect society's most vulnerable.

The signs mounted so far went up at speed - but look likely to become commonplace and could be in use for years.

Dots on the ground, lines, squares within squares, love hearts and smiley faces are being used around the world. The markings need to be impactful enough to be adhered to, but also, ideally, to reassure people without making them feel cattle-driven.

"Anywhere where there are graphics at the moment, it is because people have had to react super quick and put something in place - speed has been of the essence. We are now at the point where there is a bit of breathing space," said Chris Girling, Head of Wayfinding at CCD Design & Ergonomics in London.

We have a hotchpotch of styles, colours, terminology, scale and placement strategies, he notes. "This means every single time a member of the public enters a different space they are having to relearn the rules."

There is a balance to be found, he said. "People want to feel safe, reassured and at ease. If you can do that, they are in turn going to be more likely to shop, feel relaxed and return. The message needs to be clear and consistent ... and absorbed."

PLEASE

Levels of politeness vary in the places where retailers, city and transport authorities have been able to afford to print special signs.

"For your safety please stand 2 metres from other people," reads a floor sign in a Shell petrol garage in Britain.

"Please practice social distancing," reads another alongside footprints in Santa Monica, California.

"Stand here" is written in English on a red circle floor sign in a grocery shop in Beirut.

"If we are using words like 'stop' and 'go' and more abrupt language, then that is more associated with hazard and prohibitive signage. This (Covid-19) is a very different type of situation and one that people have never experienced before, so it warrants a different tone of voice," said Girling.

"It is definitely worth trying a more friendly and inventive touch with how you talk to your customers or the general public as they are likely to be more receptive... there is even a bit of space for humour."

Footprints have proved popular so far, in signs from Bury in Britain to Abidjan in Ivory Coast, but as Girling points out, the best sign systems would also encourage linear movement and give a visual understanding of direction.

Asked how he would design a social distancing system, he suggested a line of tape to show a pathway, which changes colour every two metres.

"The instinct to follow a line from childhood naturally stays the same as we become adults, and you subconsciously pick up on these visual cues as you walk around environments."

Signs related to Covid-19 should also ideally have their own distinctive colour, which will become instantly recognisable.

lockdown / social distancing / Coronavirus

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Export earnings hit record high $52.08B in FY22
    Export earnings hit record high $52.08B in FY22
  • Remittance inflow down by 15% in FY21-22 
    Remittance inflow down by 15% in FY21-22 
  • Photo of Bangladesh Secretariat/Collected
    Govt stops purchasing new cars for ministries, departments

MOST VIEWED

  • A man helps his son to wear mask at Covid-19 test centre at KSRTC bus stand in Bengaluru.(PTI)
    India records 16,103 new Covid cases, 31 deaths in 24 hours
  • Former North Korean defectors living in South Korea, release balloons containing one dollar banknotes, radios, CDs and leaflets denouncing the North Korean regime, towards the north near the demilitarized zone which separates the two Koreas in Paju, north of Seoul January 15, 2014. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo
    North Korea blames 'alien things' near border with South for Covid outbreak
  • People wearing protective face masks commute amid concerns over the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Pyongyang, North Korea March 30, 2020, in this photo released by Kyodo. Picture taken March 30, 2020. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS
    S Korea says leaflets sent by defectors unlikely to be cause of Covid in N Korea
  • Test tubes are seen in front of displayed Pfizer and Biontech logos in this illustration taken, May 21, 2021. Reuters: llustration
    BioNTech, Pfizer to start testing universal vaccine for coronaviruses
  • A woman holds a small bottle labelled with a "Coronavirus COVID-19 Vaccine" sticker and a medical syringe in this illustration taken October 30, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo
    S Korea approves first domestically developed Covid vaccine
  • Photo: Collected
    US medical experts call for Omicron-specific Covid boosters

Related News

  • China's factory, service sectors shake off 3 months of lockdown pain
  • China slashes Covid quarantine time for international travellers
  • Shanghai's fashion stores struggle to clear lockdown stock hangover
  • Oil falls on demand worries over Shanghai's new partial lockdowns
  • Parts of Shanghai impose new Covid lockdown measures

Features

A Glittery Eid

A Glittery Eid

5h | Mode
Rise’s target customers are people who crave to express themselves through what they wear, and their clothing line is not relegated to any age range.

Level up your Eid game with Rise

5h | Mode
Stefan Dercon, a Professor of Economics at the University of Oxford and former Chief Economist of the Department of International Development (DFID). Illustration: TBS

Renewing the ‘elite bargain’ for Bangladesh’s future growth

8h | Panorama
The eye-catching commuter: Suzuki Gixxer SF 155

The eye-catching commuter: Suzuki Gixxer SF 155

1d | Wheels

More Videos from TBS

Chirkutt performs on Fete de La Music Fest

Chirkutt performs on Fete de La Music Fest

7h | Videos
Madhuri Sanchita's seed ornaments exhibition

Madhuri Sanchita's seed ornaments exhibition

7h | Videos
Bangabandhu Tunnel to change lives of million

Bangabandhu Tunnel to change lives of million

19h | Videos
Sowari Ghat's fresh fish market

Sowari Ghat's fresh fish market

19h | Videos

Most Read

1
Padma Bridge from satellite. Photo: Screengrab
Bangladesh

Padma Bridge from satellite 

2
Meet the man behind 'Azke amar mon balo nei'
Splash

Meet the man behind 'Azke amar mon balo nei'

3
TBS Illustration
Education

Universities may launch online classes again after Eid

4
Photo: TBS
Bangladesh

Motorcycles banned on Padma Bridge 

5
Photo: Collected
Economy

Tech startup ShopUp bags $65m in Series B4 funding

6
World Bank to give Bangladesh $18b IDA loans in next five years
Economy

World Bank to give Bangladesh $18b IDA loans in next five years

EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2022
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab
BENEATH THE SURFACE
Launch operators on various river routes see a steep drop in passengers after the opening of the the Padma Bridge. Photo: TBS

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net