Most Americans are touching their loved ones as much as they did before the coronavirus pandemic, and some are being even more intimate

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• The majority of people are touching their loved ones just as much as they did before the coronavirus pandemic, a survey conducted by Business Insider revealed.
• 40% of respondents said they decreased their physical touch either significantly or slightly. 42% said they kept their levels of physical touch the same.
• 10% said they have increased their levels of physical touch.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

In a bid to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, health officials are advising the public to keep their distance from others as much as possible.

The coronavirus spreads through droplets that land on someone after an infected person coughs or sneezes. Scientists have found that even asymptomatic people can pass on the virus, so keeping your distance from others is the best way to reduce your risk and prevent the spread of the disease.

But according to poll results from a new survey, the majority of Americans are touching their loved ones as much as they did before the coronavirus pandemic - and some are being even more intimate than before.

Business Insider polled 1,136 people from a nationally representative sample about whether their level of physical touch with their spouse, partner, children, or other families members changed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

40% of respondents said they decreased their physical touch either significantly or slightly, while 42% said they kept their levels of physical touch the same. 10% of respondents said they increased their levels of physical touch.

People are longing to feel physically close during isolation and quarantine measures

Although health officials recommend staying six feet away from others - particularly older people, who are more likely to be vulnerable - there has been a rush of people traveling across the country to hunker down with their parents.

Isabel, a 23-year-old Manhattan resident who left New York City on March 13 to go to her family's home in rural Vermont, previously told Business Insider she felt that being in physical proximity to her parents would quell her anxiety. Once she arrived, they didn't keep a distance from each other.

"Of course, I was washing my hands every three minutes and very aware of keeping my parents healthy," Isabel said.

"We have the 'we are all in it together mindset,' mostly because we wanted to be able to hug each other and cook and bake for each other to try to maintain some sort of normalcy while being home. If I came to Vermont feeling sick, then it would be a whole different story."

Human touch can help manage feelings of anxiety, stress, and loneliness, which are all common emotions during this period of uncertainty, so it makes sense people would crave this type of contact more right now.

"Now that human touch is restricted, many people will be triggered and start to feel psychologically isolated, emotionally unheld and mentally isolated, and socially excluded," psychologist Chloe Paidoussis-Mitchell told HuffPost UK.

Health experts warn that homes can be COVID-19 hotspots

At the same time, others are doing their best to limit physical touch despite the emotional toll limited touch it can have.

In Hong Kong, a couple told the New York Times they aren't kissing or hugging each other or their children because they are both doctors.

"We witnessed the aftermath of SARS. We have seen people die," Dr. Pierre Chan said. "Now, I know to be afraid."

Indeed, homes with multiple people can become coronavirus hotspots if one person becomes infected, according to infectious disease experts.

"If a person you live with contracts COVID-19, you're much more likely to get it from them than from anyone else," Ruthie Birger, a postdoctoral fellow in epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health, told The Atlantic.

SurveyMonkey Audience polls from a national sample balanced by census data of age and gender. Respondents are incentivized to complete surveys through charitable contributions. Generally speaking, digital polling tends to skew toward people with access to the internet. SurveyMonkey Audience doesn't try to weigh its sample based on race or income. A total of 1,136 respondents were collected on March 25 with a margin of error plus or minus 3 percentage points and a 95% confidence level.

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