POLITICS Why health officials say 'physical distancing' is a better term than 'social distancing' Alexandra Mae Jones -- TORONTO -- Many health officials and news organizations have started to shift away from the term "social distancing” and are replacing it with "physical distancing” instead. But what does the change mean, and why does wording matter? It comes down to the connotations of the words themselves, health officials say. “Social distancing” doesn’t put the emphasis where it belongs. * Complete coverage at CTVNews.ca/coronavirus -- inbox DO: STAY PHYSICALLY APART According to Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove of the World Health Organization, speaking at a virtual press conference on Friday, the move to use “physical distancing" comes from a desire to highlight “keeping the physical distance from people so that we can prevent the virus from transferring to one another.” -- could spread the virus to multiple people at once. “What physical distancing does is … it actually separates people out, so think of that same cluster of people but spread out over a much larger geographic area,” Van Kerkhove said. -- everybody else,” said WHO’s Dr. Michael Ryan. “You create physical distance between everybody because you don't know exactly who might have the virus.” -- does not mean you’re uninfected. DON’T: BECOME SOCIALLY ISOLATED The other benefit of the change, health officials say, is that it stops associating being “social” with something negative. Van Kerkhove said that remaining physically distant from others is “absolutely essential,” but that “it doesn't mean that socially we have to disconnect from our loved ones, from our family. “Technology right now has advanced so greatly that we can keep connected in many ways without actually physically being in the same room or physically being in the same space,” she added. “We're changing to say physical distance and that's on purpose because we want people to still remain connected. So find ways to do that, find ways through the internet and through different social media to remain connected because your mental health going through this is just as important as your physical health.” WHO’s Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed agreement, reminding the -- connected while staying inside. WHY PHYSICALLY DISTANCING IS IMPORTANT From the beginning, social distancing was meant to encourage the public to remain physically separated. An infographic on the federal government’s website explains that social distancing means avoiding crowded places, avoiding common greetings such as handshakes that involve physical contact, avoiding those at a higher risk from the disease, and keeping a distance “of at least 2 arms lengths … from others, as much as possible.” -- Videos of crowded beaches, tug-of war competitions and hundreds lining up to buy a physical copy of “Animal Crossing” at EB Games have caused concern for those who are taking the virus seriously. -- Related Stories * This map shows the potential impact of ignoring physical distancing * Walkers, grocery store customers courteous with physical distancing SHARE