Elements of social distancing:
(1) quarantine of symptomatic persons
(2) closure of schools, childcare centers, theaters, churches, stores and factories where numbers of people come together
(3) restrictions on group assemblies
(4) deferring unnecessary travel and restricting travelers, especially those with fever or other symptoms
(5) using personal protective measures (hand washing, respiratory masks, droplet barriers) when contact is necessary
(6) cleaning contaminated surfaces with disinfectants
(7) optimizing ventilation in buildings
Since asymptomatic persons can spread an infectious agent, success of social distancing needs to involve everyone in the community, not just people with symptoms.
Social distancing may or may not be successful in reducing disease transmission. In past epidemics some communities that practiced social distancing had infections as bad or worse than neighboring communities that did not.
