COVID-19, Corona, face masks, handwashing, NO HAND SHAKING, social distancing, etc. are some of the words or phrases that we may not forget, at least in the next 10yrs. I may be wrong in the estimation of the number of years that we may not forget the catchwords or phrases above, but pardon me.
However, there is something interesting I have observed, that I would like to share. Before and at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the abhorrent things to do was to shake hands with another person. Are we still observing that?
There is another way of greeting I have observed that was occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is called fist-bumping. Even though it has been in existence before the pandemic, I often see people ‘fist bumping’ during the exchange of pleasantries or greetings in Ghana and other parts of the world. Is this different from handshaking?
What was the purpose of preventing handshaking during the COVID-19 pandemic? To prevent the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 through direct contact with the infected person’s palm, right? Are we not exposing ourselves to the same risk by resorting to fist-bumping?
A very big YES. If we are really committed to reducing the spread of the virus through person-to-person contact, it is time we frowned on fist-bumping as well! It is now being used widely as a replacement for handshaking but it is as dangerous as our normal handshaking.
Until the pandemic is over, I entreat fellow Ghanaians and Africans to use other forms of touchless greeting gestures rather than resorting to fist-bumping. For, it can also spread the virus the same way as handshaking will do.
All rights reserved, 2021, Courage Kosi Setsoafia Saba (Ph.D)
Senior Lecturer Acting Director, International Relations and Advancement University for Development Studies Department of Microbiology Faculty of Biosciences
P. O. Box 1882 Tamale-Ghana