Social Distancing in the Context of Covid-19, People’s Perception and Cultural Barriers

Abstract

Coronavirus is a lethal disease affecting many counties worldwide. In Pakistan, the public understanding, perception, and knowledge has influenced the mode of its transmission. This research aimed at investigating the public perception in twin cities including their knowledge, attitude, and actions. The role of cultural barriers influencing social distancing has also explored. The consequences of the existence of cultural barriers and social distancing are featured in detail. Thirty respondents of different age, profession, gender, and sects were selected as research sample. Qualitative research methods including case study, key informants and interviewing were adopted to conduct this research. The key findings demonstrate that varied perception of people about coronavirus exists in research area. The spread and virus transmission are associated with the mindset of people influencing their actions. Several cultural barriers including socio economic status, cultural ways of greeting, faith and religion-based gatherings, family system and customary practices act as a fence towards maintaining social distancing. The effect of social isolation includes addiction of social media, depression, anxiety, and state of loneliness among people.

Key words: Social distancing, Socio-economic status, Cultural barriers, Perception, social media, social isolation