The Study Of The Gloomy Future Of A World Without A Handshake

Photo illustration (Charles Deluvio / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Shaking hands has been done for centuries as a symbol of peace. In the context of warfare, shaking hands is also the language for a truce. Over time, handshakes have become part of social, professional, business and sports interactions.

But since the new corona virus that causes COVID-19 emerged, many people are rethinking to shake hands with someone. It doesn't matter whether it's polite or not. Because, according to the statement of the world health authority, shaking hands can be a medium of exchange for microorganisms that have the potential to transmit disease.

"Hands are like busy junctions, constantly connecting our microbiome to the microbiome of other people, places, etc.," said a group of scientists in the Journal of Dermatological Science. Hands, they say, are a 'critical vector' for transmitting microorganisms, including viruses.

"Think about this. Every time you touch a surface, you are probably picking up up to 50 percent of the organisms on that surface," said Charles Gerba, a microbiologist and public health researcher at the University of Arizona.

Human hands are said to carry Salmonella, E. coli, noroviruses and other respiratory infections, such as adenovirus and hand-mouth disease, Reuters reported. Given how often scientists find dirt on human fingers and palms, people's hand hygiene habits are much worse than they think.

Gerba also studies the movement of viruses. He puts the virus on office door knobs, in hotel rooms, and in someone's home. He said it only took four hours for the virus on office door knobs to reach hands and surfaces in an office building or about 90 percent of surfaces in a person's home.

Meanwhile, the virus in a hotel often moves from room to room and sometimes to the nearest conference room. Gerba said that he himself stopped shaking hands since the SARS outbreak in 2003. “I always said I had the flu. That way I don't have to shake the hand of many people, "said Gerba.

Infectious disease expert in the United States (US), Dr. Anthony Fauci has the same view since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. "You will not shake anyone's hand. That is obvious," Fauci said.

Photo by Cytonn Photography on UnsplashCaption

Old culture

However, shaking hands has long been a way for humans to gesture to one another and part of the ritual of finding common ground. But if it is no longer automatically accepted, what will replace the handshake as a complement to post-COVID-19 social ethics?

"A handshake is a process that is photographed when an appointment is made," said Dorothy Noyes, a professor at Ohio State University.

The long, firm handshake of US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron in 2018 is a classic two-man look for dominance. Some handshakes, such as those of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister (PM) Shinzo Abe, take months to reach this point, signaling that the two sides have finally agreed on long-negotiated deals.

Minutes after announcing the ban on shaking hands to combat COVID-19, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte enthusiastically shook the hand of Jaap Van Dissel, the head of the Dutch Center for Infectious Diseases Control. "Sorry, sorry! No, this is not allowed! Let's do it again," said PM Rutte with a laugh.

Knowing someone or not, a handshake is a habit that is hard to avoid even if we want to. But with this pandemic that has killed hundreds of people, like it or not, we have to get used to not shaking hands. Maybe in the future there will be other habits that will later become a trend to show ethics in the social environment.

Image by Reimund Bertrams from Pixabay Caption