Belgians about boxing: not that dangerous, foot kiss better | Inland

The boxing – in Flanders people speak of ‘the fist’ – is not considered a high-risk contact, according to the Scientific Association for Youth Health Care (VWVJ). That advice is intended for yet other Belgian authorities. They should map the extent to which pupils and teachers had contact with infected people at school.

“Young people know that they are not allowed to shake hands, but sometimes they give a hand as an alternative,” says Anouk Vanlander of the VWVJ. “We were asked what contact tracers should do with it. Now we advise you not to regard this as a high risk. The contact between the hands is too fleeting for that. “

Foot Coast

So do we have to fight en masse? “We must of course avoid physical contact,” says Vanlander. “This is purely about pragmatic advice for the experts. It is much better to wave or, for example, put your hand on your heart. ” Or, if necessary, use the ‘foot kiss’ or elbow salute, where there is no contact via the hands or the face, the Flemish expert suggests.

Queen Máxima gave another box last Monday when she awarded the Prince Bernhard Cultuurfonds Prize. Artist Marco Gerris, founder of ISH Dance Collective, forced the princess to the somewhat uncomfortable greeting. “Then the rebellion comes to the surface in me.” Máxima hesitated for a moment and agreed with a laugh.

“Ten times safer!”

In the Netherlands, no official advice about the fist has yet been issued. It has already become clear before corona that the fist is at least better than a hand. Scientists at Aberystwyth University explored different forms of greetings in 2014. They soaked a sterile rubber glove in a basin with a mixture containing the e. coli bacteria. Then one of them put on the glove and greeted a colleague in different ways: with a so-called boxing, high-five and a classic handshake. The researchers then analyzed how many bacteria remained on the ‘greeting’ glove.

What turned out? With a box you transfer 10 times less bacteria than with a traditional hand. It takes less time and, moreover, less body is touched. A high-five is also a better idea – but it can’t be beat.

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