Physical distancing, please! This is corona time. But that’s not news – there’s no escaping it. It’s everywhere and it affects us all in many ways. The world looks empty; it is both quiet and loud at the same time. We are in this bizarre movie featuring an invisible enemy, and we’re hoping that some superpower hero will appear and save us all. But this is real and it is up to each of us to deal with it.
the communications department to tell us that the term was not correct. We should not practice ‘social’
distancing
but
‘physical’
distancing,
he explained. And he is 100% right. There is absolutely no need to stop socializing. If anything, it is more important and probably more necessary than ever. A friendly interaction will overcome any 1.5 meter barrier. It is possible to introduce yourself as the new neighbor
Governments and health organizations tell us
and keep a safe distance at the same time. We can
what to do to stay healthy. Some of their advice is
still greet, comfort, listen, smile, care, talk, admire
so basic but we apparently need reminding: wash
each other’s kids, exchange information about our
your hands! Other precautionary measures are
favorite restaurants and tell our friends they are the
new and directly influence the way we interact with
best. It is possible to do all of this, in any language,
each other: stay home, practice social distancing.
in any culture. All it takes is not to practice social
That’s hard for any human being. We want to meet
distancing, but physical distancing: 1.5 meters.
people, go out, and, particularly if you just arrived in Eindhoven, get to know your new home.
Maybe the superpower we need right now is that little bit of human interaction. It will get us through
Working in the high-tech region of Brainport
this. Stay safe, stay healthy.
has taught me that when serious issues are at stake, the language used to communicate about
Monique Mols
them has to be extremely precise, just like the
Corporate Communications, ASML
technology developed here. So when the term ‘social distancing’ was first introduced, one of my colleagues at ASML immediately contacted
