#CoronavirusConcerns: Royalty, celebs ditch the handshake

There’s a lot of dos and don’ts making the rounds as the fear of coronavirus — Covid-19 outbreak spread everywhere. While sanitising hands and sneezing etiquette is key, people are also being advised to avoid shaking hands with anyone as a form of greeting. This has led to several interesting alternatives to say hello cropping up around the world.
The elbow bump, Wuhan shake and other ways to say hello

Singer Robbie Williams greeted fans with his elbows rather than a handshake in Melbourne

It started earlier this month when a video surfaced from Wuhan (the Chinese city at the epicenter of the virus outbreak). It showed two men in masks greeting each other by tapping their feet instead of shaking hands and embracing. The video carried the caption: “I love how people can adapt and keep a sense of humour about stressful situations.” Since then, it’s gone viral with a vengeance, getting others to try it.

John Magufuli, president of Tanzania, greeted a colleague with a foot-shake. A video also showed Russian energy minister Alexander Novak performing a ‘foot shake’ with an oil company head. It’s also sparking other cool, hands-free ways to greet someone.
On the heels of the foot shake is the elbow bump. Bulgarian economist Kristalina Georgieva and World Bank Group President David Malpass bumped elbows at the end of a press briefing on COVID-19 in Washington.
The England cricket team will be opting for fist-bumps instead of handshakes during their Sri Lanka tour, starting March 19. NBA players also chose to fist-bump over their signature high-fives to be safe in these times.
A Canadian government site recommends an ‘elbow bump’ or a friendly wave as it is “less likely to expose you to respiratory viruses”. It got Hillary Clinton to dub the precautionary elbow bump as the ‘corona shake’. Taking a cue from it, Hollywood actress Sandra Bullock was seen greeting her friend with her elbow in LA, two days ago.
Along with the Indian namaste, the gesture of ‘Thai Wai’ which entails a slight bow with the palms pressed together, is also being suggested as a way of greeting people.
Royalty adapts it, too

The Queen chose not to shake hands with Sri Lanka’s high commissioner, Saroja Sirisena or her husband, Sudath Talpahewa. She was seen standing a metre away from the couple with her hands close to her body

Prince Charles adopts the Indian gesture of 'namaste' to greet actor Pierce Brosnan

This March, there were no handshakes from the Queen as she held an audience at Buckingham Palace amid the coronavirus outbreak. Later at the Commonwealth service, the Prince of Wales opted for a namaste, while Harry bumped elbows with musician Craig David. “It’s very odd not shaking hands, I try my best to hold my hands like that,” Prince Wiliam was quoted as saying.
Prince Charles also adopted the Indian gesture of namaste to greet guests at the Prince's Trust awards. Last week, Queen Maxima and King Willem-Alexander of The Netherlands, who visited Jakarta on a state visit to Indonesia, also did not shake hands because of coronavirus.

Handshake alternatives you can try

The Wuhan Shake video that went viral

• The wave
• Namaste
• Wuhan shake
• Elbow bump
• Thai Wai