With hand-to-hand contact now strongly discouraged, and even the popular elbow bump now considered a breeding ground for germs due to the common practice of sneezing and coughing into the elbow region, Dr. Cato T. Laurencin and Dr. Aneesah McClinton of UConn Health\u2019s Connecticut Convergence Institute for Translation in Regenerative Engineering have created \u201cThe Laurencin-McClinton Greeting\u201d (LMG) to meet the evolving COVID-19 culture needs.<\/p>\n
Their newly developed greeting\u00a0involves an individual placing their closed fist to their chest just overlying the heart to convey greeting to another.<\/p>\n According to the UConn physicians this new greeting does not require contact and can be performed to acknowledge another individual at a reasonable distance away in a time of social distancing. The closed fist is a power symbol and the placement over the heart conveys solidarity and demonstrates resolve to endure in this unprecedented crisis.<\/p>\n Additionally, the researchers recommend a second-part of a greeting to be included when contact of\u00a0 two parties is permitted. Following an individual\u2019s placement of their fist to their chest, they may also then extend their forearm outward at a 45-degree angle. The reciprocating party may position their arm alongside the initiator\u2019s arm. Together, they briefly tap their mid-forearms forming a cross-like configuration.<\/p>\n According to the researchers, the mid-forearm represents a safer zone just between the hands and elbows.<\/p>\n \u201cWe introduce a new greeting that avoids hand contact altogether,\u201d says Laurencin, CEO of The Connecticut Convergence Institute for Translation in Regenerative Engineering at UConn Health. \u201cThe new greeting is timely as social distancing restrictions are gradually lifted throughout the country.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Laurencin-LMG-Part-2-002-215x300.jpg\")