Germans say auf Wiedersehen to hugs and handshakes in new post-COVID world

• Hessians will continue to abstain from hugging the loved ones even after the end of the coronavirus pandemic.
• Majority of the people polled said that they will no longer shake hands with strangers.
• Nearly a quarter of survey responders will no longer invite visitors into their homes even after the pandemic.

In a recent survey, almost a third of the residents of the German state of Hessen, said they will continue to abstain from hugging their loved loved ones. The poll showed that 39% of Hessians also will permanently quit shaking hands with anyone, and 64% will no longer shake hands with strangers, even after the COVID-19 pandemic ends.

Nearly a quarter of the Germans surveyed, or 23%, said they don’t want to invite visitors into their homes in post-pandemic life.

The survey results paint a rather bleak grim of the lasting effects the COVID-19 pandemic will have on basic human interaction, including expressions of affection for the loved ones.

The survey also revealed that 46% of the 1,000 respondents will no longer go to concerts, movies or other large indoor events.

And 40% of the responders said they intend to keep wearing surgical masks in some situations, such as when they’re riding on a bus or shopping at a supermarket, even after the COVID-19 pandemic is over.

City officials in Gelnhausen, a Hessian town about 40 kilometers east of Frankfurt, have canceled plans for this year’s Christmas market because of rising Covid-19 infections. “We regret that very much, but we cannot answer for such an event given the high incidence,” Mayor Daniel Christian Glockner said.

COVID-19 infections in Germany rose to a record high in the past week, despite implementation of tougher rules that increased pressure on residents to get vaccinated.

However, mitigation efforts haven’t been altogether successful. For instance, an estimated 24 people were reportedly infected with COVID-19 at a recent choir concert in Freigericht, even though unvaccinated spectators were banned from attending.