social distancing

A phrase made commonplace in guidelines published by various governments around the world for mitigation of the COVID-19 pandemic. "Social distancing" is the practice of maintaining physical separation while interacting with other people. The exact distance varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but is generally around six feet/two meters.

Use when characters are keeping their distance in a manner that is a clear reference to pandemic life (one visual clue to a pandemic reference is the accompanying wearing of mouth masks for no other visible reason).