Coronavirus: Simple video shows effectiveness of social distancing

Updated

A graphic designer has made a simple yet sobering video illustrating the importance of social distancing to delay the spread of the coronavirus.

Juan Delcan, along with his artist wife Valentina Izaguirre, used a metaphor by animating burning matches in a line to illustrate how quickly a virus is spread from human to human, or in this case, match to match.

The clever footage shows one matchstick leaving the line, moving away from the rest, and stopping the blaze in its tracks, halting the spread.

Covid-19, which is transmitted from person-to person, is a disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), , first detected in China in December, 2019.

There have now been 185,067 cases across the globe, with 7,330 deaths.

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On Monday, Boris Johnson warned of the importance of social distancing and to avoid unnecessary contact.

Many have been echoing the concept on social media and willed people to practise social distancing measures, like keeping a one to two-metre distance rule, as demonstrated this morning by BBC Breakfast presenters Dan Walker and Louise Minchin.

Delcan, 54, captioned his video, which has gone viral with more than three million views: “Do your part, stay at home. It’s all we can do.”

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He told Reuters news agency that they shot the setting using a mobile device.

Then they tracked the camera move using digital visual effects and motion graphics application.

They also recorded and mixed the audio foley sound effect using a phone and a video editing application.

Juan Delcan, along with his artist wife used a metaphor by animating burning matches in a line to illustrate quickly a virus is spread from human to human, or in this case, match to match.
Juan Delcan, along with his artist wife, used a metaphor by animating burning matches in a line to illustrate quickly a virus is spread from human to human (Juan Delcan)

Delcan, 54, directed the 3D clip, while his partner, Valentina Izaguirre, designed and styled the set.

“We wanted to reach younger people who are not taking this seriously,” Izaguirre, 48, told US website TODAY.

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“One of the most touching messages we received, was from a kid who said our visual helped him to realise the severity of the situation.”

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