Social distancing and COVID-19: The housing dimension and implications for housing policy

ABSTRACT

As the global community awaits the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, the prevention etiquette of social distancing, also known as physical distancing, is being championed as a means of reducing the rate of infections. Social distancing measures offer valuable strategies to halt the spread of a virus and forms an integral part of a pandemic preparedness plan at both the national and international levels. The nationwide and restricted lockdowns implemented in many countries in a gradualist approach to limit and stop the spread;provide adequate care for the sick;limit the impact on social and economic life;inspire expansion of domestic capability and deepen self-reliance has brought to the fore, housings' significance in social development. These measures being in sync with the emergence and subsequent transmission of global pandemic (COVID-19) reveal the importance of access to decent housing as a strategic input in the economic, social, and civic development of every nation. With millions of people living in substandard housing units where the housing conditions and essential services do not support such a practice (social distancing), the adherence to social distancing and the practice of good hygiene (the necessary COVID-19 prevention protocols) has become an oxymoron for many of the global population. This chapter presents a synthesis of the evidence from literature on the implications of housing on social distancing effectiveness among people living in substandard housing units in Ghana. Specifically, it brings to the fore, new policy dimensions that the country have, is and should explore to support adherence to the directive (social distancing), especially among vulnerable populations like slum dwellers and the homeless. © 2021 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.