Coronavirus fears prompt people to seek healthier alternatives to shaking hands
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Handshakes are gross.
As the world grapples with the coronavirus outbreak, many people are wondering what they can do to protect themselves. It turns out not pressing your hands against other people’s hands is a good place to start.
Recently, footage went viral that claimed to show how residents of the Chinese city of Wuhan were greeting each other while reducing the risk of infection. In the video, several men are shown forgoing handshakes and touching their feet together instead.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The footage was uploaded to Twitter by a user with the name V_actually, though it is unclear whether or not this was the original source. But whatever the original intent for the video was, V-actually purported it to be footage of men in China who found "another way to greet."
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“People in China found another way to greet since they can't shake hands,” she wrote. “The Wuhan Shake. I love how people can adapt and keep a sense of humor about stressful situations.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A similar video appears to show men in Iran performing a similar greeting "in the age of the coronavirus."
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When it comes to greetings, handshakes are one of the most effective ways of spreading bacteria between people.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In a 2014 study from Aberystwyth University in Wales, researchers determined that shaking hands “transmitted two times more bacteria than high fives and 10 times more bacteria than fist bumps, Harvard Health Publishing reports.
Of course, handshakes aren’t the only type of greeting that can spread germs.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In response to the outbreak, France’s health minister Olivier Veran warned the country’s residents to stop participating in the traditional greeting of kissing people on both cheeks, Business Insider reports.
Maybe it’s time to just stop touching strangers in general.