Swine flu and France's kissing ban
Will fear of an H1N1 pandemic kill the traditional French air-kiss greeting, la bise?
First ladies Michelle Obama and Carla Bruni Sarkozy of France say hello with a kiss, before the ban.
(Thierry Chesnot/POOL/epa/Corbis)
"Swine flu has put an end to a beloved French custom, at least for now," said Sherryl Connelly in the New York Daily News. The French health ministry has issued a warning that the air kiss, or "la bise," could spread the swine flu, or H1N1 virus. The "bise ban" got its start when the mayor of the town of Guilvenec in Brittany told school teachers and students to drop the traditional greeting.
The kissing ban has not become a national law, yet, said Henry Samuel in Britain's Daily Telegraph, but big companies such as insurer AXA have told workers to abandon the bise and the handshake, and some offices are even demanding a one-yard person-to-person buffer zone. And an outright national ban could be one of the emergency measures France takes in the winter flu season to fight a possible H1N1 pandemic.
With what shall we replace the kiss on the cheek and the handshake? asked Sandrine Blanchard in France's Le Monde. A slap on the back? If that's the way you go, be gentle. If you slap too hard you might make your friend cough or spit—and that's been banned, too.
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3 Comments
Posted by peter amponsah, Monday, September 14, 2009, 10:06 am PLEASE SANITIZE YOUR CHEEKSSome French companies have put a ban on cheek kissing. France is one of the countries that uses cheek kissing as a greeting, so why is kissing your pals cheeks being banned in some French companies? Its the fear of H1N1. Swine flu doesnt flow through someone elses cheeks to your cheek, and even if it was possible that swine flu can spread from cheek to cheek, then why not sanitize your cheeks once every minute or two, just like we sanitize our hands to keep ourselves from getting the swine flu virus.Cheek kissing shou
Posted by peter amponsah, Monday, September 14, 2009, 10:07 am ld not be banned in companies they should just let others know how to keep themselves safe from catching the virus. Shaking hands can spread the virus more than kissing cheeks, but still people shake hands occasionally when they meet others. The swine flu is a virus that can be prevented with proper care. Kissing on the cheeks should be advised to all people to use as a way of greeting others, its safer and its the cleanest part of the body. The hands touch many more things than the cheek and have the most chance of carrying the swine flu virus
Posted by peter amponsah, Monday, September 14, 2009, 10:08 am around. Everybody is afraid of catching the swine flu, including me, and I do everything I can do to prevent the risk of ending up with the virus. I carry hand sanitize with me at all times and take an open mind about things I touch I keep my hands away from my eyes and mouth, and I cough away from others and away from my hands. I dont know anybody with the swine flu yet, so Im out of harm's way for now. Everybody should sanitize their hands and cheeks if you are in France, I highly recommend it.
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