The return of the handshake: After the Covid pandemic, office workers said they would shake hands with anyone who offered it.

  • JL Partners has released a new poll that shows that handshakes are back in style 
  • “All but one of the younger voters said they were going back to shaking hands.”
  • Boris Johnson was known for shaking hands with patients before he contracted covidence.










Boris Johnson once boasted of shaking hands with everybody at a hospital where there was confirmed coronavirus.

On that same day (March 3, 2020), the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), advised against greetings such as shaking hands and hugging.  

Three weeks later, Mr Johnson was confirmed to have coronavirus on March 27.

The UK has been subject to three lockdowns, and many other restrictions over the past 18 months, including mandatory face-masking.

Since the outbreak, hand hygiene has been a top priority. Many people have politely refused to shake hands with people who are not in line with their natural instincts.  

The handshake is back: Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, and Boris Johnson during the Global Investment Summit at the Science Museum in London on October 19

The handshake is back: Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, and Boris Johnson during the Global Investment Summit at the Science Museum in London on October 19

Stock image: Over the last 18 months the UK has endured three legally-forced lockdowns and a multitude of restrictions in-between, including mandatory face masks because of Covid-19

Stock image: Over the last 18 months the UK has endured three legally-forced lockdowns and a multitude of restrictions in-between, including mandatory face masks because of Covid-19

JL Partners, an independent polling company, suggests that the handshake might be returning to good. 

A spokesperson for the company stated: “In a survey of younger voters, all but 1 said that they were back to shaking their hands and weren’t wearing masks. It was clear that most people had been vaccinated and that the risk of contracting the disease was much reduced. It’s time to accept it and move on. 

The additional: “It is the vaccine, general covid fatigue (I hate Zoom), which has sped it up.

The study did however show that older people were more likely to be cautious in the winter.

President Joe Biden and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen shake hands after talking to reporters during the G20 leaders summit, Sunday, Oct. 31, in Rome

After talking to reporters, President Joe Biden & President Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission president, shake hands during the G20 leaders Summit, Sunday Oct. 31, in Rome

The older group said that most people avoided handshakes. However, one couple stated that it made them feel ‘uneasy’ and that it didn’t make them like it anyway. The polling company found that even those who were more cautious were becoming more relaxed with masks and distance.

Young and old groups shared one thing in common: they used hand sanitizer. Even the most relaxed participants admitted that they always had a bottle with them and would’sneakily use it’ after a handshake.

The humble handshake has a lasting appeal in chimps, bonobos, and other living relatives of humanity.

Dr Ella Al-Shamahi, evolutionary biologist, says that species of apes can be seen linking fingers after a conflict. She explains this in her book, The Handshake. A Gripping History.    

Dr Julian Tang, a Leicester University professor of virology, spoke to the Times and said that Covid was primarily passed through the air rather than touching surfaces or hands. 

He also said that banning handshaking also bars people from getting close enough for them to shake hands, so the break wasn’t totally pointless.

Why did scientists recommend against handshakes

Experts believed that the easiest way to transmit coronavirus was by touching contaminated surfaces at the outbreak.

SARS-CoV-2, the virus, was found to survive for several days on table-tops according to studies. 

Mobeen Rathore is the chief of paediatric infectious disease and immunology at Wolfson Children’s Hospital, Jacksonville, Florida. He told Huffington Post that hands are the most common method of transmission.

“We use them constantly, constantly touching things, and are not even aware of it. 

“Then, we touch our faces all day without even thinking about what it is.”

However, evidence began to shift towards 2020 about how Covid spreads.  

Aerosol droplets are believed to be the main method by which the virus jumps between people. 

Experts agree that contamination of surfaces plays a minimal role in transmission. However, they recommend that people still clean their hands to ensure safety. 

They assert that the virus can still enter the body by infecting hands with the nose and mouth. 

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