US mulls reducing social distancing rule to 3 feet apart

The United States’ top pandemic adviser says that authorities are considering cutting social distancing rules to three feet (one meter), a move that would change a key tenet of the global fight against Covid-19.

Anthony Fauci, a world-respected figure during the coronavirus crisis, says experts at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are examining a Massachusetts study that found “no substantial difference” in Covid cases in schools observing six-foot and three-foot rules.

Asked on CNN’s “State of the Union” show whether that meant that a three-foot separation was sufficient, Fauci replies, “It does, indeed.”

People wearing masks wait in line amid the coronavirus pandemic on May 18, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images/ via JTA/SUE)

While cautioning that the CDC was still poring over the new data and conducting tests of its own, he says its findings would come “soon.”

The six-foot social distancing rule has been a widely adopted global measure to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, along with mask-wearing and hand-washing.