Now, umbrellas could help you maintain social distancing

Vishakhapatnam: In the wake of coronavirus spread, several doctors, bureaucrats, and intellectuals have been advising people to maintain social distance, by covering their face with masks. Now, another suggestion has come from the authorities, that is to take an umbrella while going out.

While visiting Rythu Bazar in Sitammadhara in the city on Tuesday, Joint Collector L. Siva Shankar advised the people to use umbrellas not only to protect from the heat wave but also to ensure a metre distance from others in public areas.

The advice comes as an old man, who had gone to the market for vegetables in Chodavaram, died due to scorching temperature recently.

City-based doctor Kutikuppala Surya Rao suggested mandatory use of umbrellas to maintain social distancing.

“While using an umbrella, a person will automatically stand away from the others at a minimum one-meter distance and also will be safe from the scorching heat,” Surya Rao said.

While whether or not umbrella can help you save from coronavirus, it can help maintain social distancing outdoors, says Dr K Vijaya Lakshmi Super Specialty expert of General Medicine. However, people must use masks even while they are under umbrellas, she added.