Queueing in the Age of Social Distancing

With the spread of the global coronavirus pandemic, social distancing has become a requirement in countries worldwide. You will all have been told not to get closer than 2 metres to one another, and if you've been to the shops recently, you will have seen markings all over the floor illustrating where you can and cannot stand. In today's article we are going to think about how social distancing affects building interiors and how close visitors can get to one another. 

The government's coronavirus guidelines prevent people from getting 2 metres (or 6 feet) within each other, however if it cannot be avoided, this distance may be lowered to 1 metre. The government recently also made face masks mandatory for public transport and shopping, and at time of writing, this will soon be extended to other institutions such as art galleries, theatres, and places of worship. 

Plenty of supermarkets have painted lines of demarcation across the floors to assist with social distancing - these lines help customers to understand where to stand while queueing or walking around the shop. Plenty of supermarkets have also erected queueing barriers to organise their customers when they head to the checkout. If you run a shop or business and feel that you could do more to help your customers remain socially distant, queueing barriers may be the answer for you as they can effectively prevent shoppers from getting too close to each other. 

Business owners have had a tough time during this pandemic, and with the possibility of a second wave, it seems as though social distancing will be sticking around for some time. It's important that we all follow the government's advice in these times - perhaps some new barriers could help your business maintain social distancing requirements?

Fast facts about social distancing:

• If you have trouble guessing how long 2 metres is, imagine two arms' length between you and the other person
• Social distancing must be combined with handwashing, mask-wearing, and avoiding touching your face to be effective
• Covid-19 can live for days on unsanitised surfaces, so use plenty of hand sanitiser before and after visits outdoors
• Social distancing is important for everyone, but particularly those with serious chronic medical conditions such as heart disease or diabetes