Brands emphasise the importance of staying apart during the crisis

Through logo tweaks, billboards, innovative design, and social media posts, brands are telling people to follow social distancing.

The world we live in has been altered drastically due to COVID - 19. Countries have adopted strict measures such as lockdowns, curfews, home-quarantine, and social distancing to keep the virus from spreading.

As per CNN on March 23, 2020, at least 341,000 people have contracted the virus and 14,700 people have lost their lives because of it. In India, the number of people infected with the virus rose to 415 and the death toll stands at 7.

Public health authorities across the world have stressed on certain precautions such as social distancing - maintaining at least 1 meter (3 feet) distance between yourself and anybody who is coughing or sneezing.

Why? According to the World Health Organization (W.H.O.), ‘When someone coughs or sneezes they spray small liquid droplets from their nose or mouth which may contain virus. If you are too close, you can breathe in the droplets, including the COVID-19 virus if the person coughing has the disease.’

While public health authorities and governments are stressing on such precautions, brands too have taken a step forward to make people aware of the need and importance of such measures.

Here is a list of brands who’re taking efforts to popularize the precautions:

McDonald’s in Brazil tweaked its logo by separating its iconic golden arches that when viewed together formed the world-famous 'M'.

View this post on Instagram

Mesmo um pouco mais separados, #tmj. E, juntos, vamos sair dessa mais fortes e unidos.

A post shared by McDonald's Brasil (@mcdonalds_br) on Mar 19, 2020 at 6:09pm PDT

The Coca-Cola Company in Times Square distanced the letters of its brand Coca-Cola to emphasise social distancing

Audi India separated its four ring logo to remind people social distancing.

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Stay at home, keep your distance, stay healthy, support each other – we are in this together. As a global company and a global community, our highest priority is to identify any opportunities to #flattenthecurve. Stay safe.

A post shared by Audi India (@audiin) on Mar 18, 2020 at 7:25am PDT

Burger King India on its social media channels told customers to not visit its outlets and instead order in from their homes.

Don’t come to Burger King, let the King come to you! Order safe deliveries from our kitchen to your doorstep on Swiggy or Zomato. Stay home, stay safe.
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.#SocialDistancing #Covid19 #WorkFromHome #FoodDelivery #StayHome #CrownStandard pic.twitter.com/yVmseJKaGe

— BurgerKingIndia (@burgerkingindia) March 19, 2020

Zomato India spoke about its 'contactless food delivery' feature that encourages social distancing.

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What we're doing as precautionary measures to address COVID-19 in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and many more cities. . Contactless food delivery is already available through our ‘delivery instructions’ feature. . The ecosystem’s safety is of paramount importance to us – our customers, delivery partners, restaurant partners, and employees. We are confident that with the right practices, and adequate social distancing, we can help curb the spread of COVID-19. . We strongly urge you to wash your hands properly before you eat any kind of food – whether cooked at home, or ordered from Zomato.

A post shared by Zomato India (@zomatoin) on Mar 19, 2020 at 2:40am PDT

The Hindu telling us it's not that hard.

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One small change could save lives. Stop the spread of Covid-19 by enforcing social distancing as much as possible.

A post shared by The Hindu (@the_hindu) on Mar 21, 2020 at 8:42pm PDT

The New York Times through excellent design talking to us about social distancing.

still having a little fun pic.twitter.com/xwZY5iaFjd

— sondern (@standardregular) March 18, 2020

Godrej Cinthol telling us to stay safe indoors.

In times like these, let's come together to stay away from each other. And for that, all that you have to do is stay safe indoors and fight these germs and virus with your own hands. You've got this.#SocialDistancing #AliveIsAwesome #KeepWashingYourHands pic.twitter.com/9ei6x765G7

— Godrej Cinthol (@GodrejCinthol) March 23, 2020

COVID - 19 has forced the Indian government to shut down 75 districts and only allow essential services to operate till March 31, 2020.

All industries have borne the brunt of the virus. The media and entertainment industries have suspended all shooting till March 31, 2020, as a precautionary measure.

Even the Indian Premier League, the world's most prestigious T20 cricket league had to suspend its 13 edition to April 15, 2020, from the original start date of March 29, 2020.