Will Covid 19 disrupt the Handshake

It is said, that the Handshake dates back to the ancient Greek era. Some proof of this could be a funeral stone from the 5th century BC portraying two soldiers shaking hands which is displayed at the Pergamom Museum in Berlin. Another is at the Acropolic museum in Athens where a carving dating back to 400 BC, depicting Hera the sister of Zeus and Athena the Goddess of wisdom shaking hands. One hypothesis of the handshake is that it was a show of trust and the person you were meeting did not carry any weapons.

Over the centuries the handshake became a symbol of greeting or parting among many cultures.

The Covid-19 is vigorously disrupting nations and is in the process of creating a New World Order of a different kind. Whenever and wherever we emerge from this crisis, we may not be engaged in the same playing field that we were on, barely three months ago. Gone will be numerous businesses, hopes and dreams.

With social distancing very much in place and with the fast pace that Covid-19 is impacting our lives and hygiene becoming paramount, shaking hands have more or less become a taboo. Many cultures for centuries have practised other methods of greetings without touching another person.

The handshake might be a gesture of the past, with more and more awareness of social distancing and hygiene as well as the duty of care, of others.