Rosa Silverman 罗莎·西尔弗曼

You've been obediently coughing into your sleeve since February， concentrating with every fibre of your being on not touching your mouth， nose or eyes （surprisingly difficult， as it happens） and washing your hands every time you blink or breathe. But unless you change up your social etiquette game， will all of your efforts be in vain？

A new front has opened up in the battle against coronavirus: one in which our interpersonal interactions have become freshly suspect. Under a new “social distancing” strategy， handshaking could be discouraged， with other， less tactile forms of greeting taking its place.

Here's a semi-handy guide for what to do in those tricky social situations at a time when touching could prove terminal （but probably won't）.

1. Saying hello

Here's your chance to get creative. Sylvie Brand， the World Health Organization's director of pandemic disease， has endorsed as safer alternatives to shaking hands: the elbow bump; the foot-shake; waving; and the “wai”， a Thai greeting consisting of a slight bow with the palms pressed together in prayer-like fashion.

Feel free to invent your own hands-free method of greeting someone or closing a business deal. How about stamping your left foot three times in the general direction of the other person？ Or standing three metres away and sending them a handshake emoji on your phone？

2. Attending a party or wedding

The first rule of attending such an event in the time of COVID-19 is don't attend it at all if you feel unwell. Nobody wants to arrive with a gift and leave with a serious illness. “Stay home if you feel unwell，” orders the World Health Organisation， for the avoidance of any doubt. You can always be patched into the festivities if you have a decent conference call line at your house.

If you feel sufficiently virus-free to turn up， you may wish to avoid hugs， even after a few drinks. Especially after a few drinks， in fact， when your hugging technique will be sloppier， more informal and more likely to result in either hugger or huggee transmitting something nasty.