Ebola response: Hands-on in a world without touch

Canadian Red Cross communications delegate, Gwen Eamer, has been deployed to support Red Cross relief efforts for Ebola in Guinea. She will be on the ground for three weeks.

How many times did you touch someone today: a family member, a friend, a colleague, the person beside you on the bus? How many times did you rub your eyes, touch your lips, scratch your nose? A world without touch is strange thing, and a humanitarian mission where you’re not allowed to touch other people is both physically and mentally challenging.

We all take for granted the small touches throughout the day—a tap on the shoulder, a quick hug—and suddenly being unable to give or receive these small gestures of humanity can create a feeling of isolation, while curbing your reflex to touch others or to touch your own face is immensely challenging. When your standard introductory handshake or hug is replaced by tapping elbows or bumping fists, you know that you’ve begun a mission that’s a little bit different from the others.

Ebola is spread through contact with the sweat, urine, blood or other fluids of an infected person, with the body of a person who died of Ebola virus disease, or with an object that an infected person has touched. Not touching my own face with hands that touch countless surfaces each day is a small but useful measure to limit my exposure, and not touching colleagues is a way to protect them and myself.


Red Cross volunteers in the affected countries are at the frontlines of the global response. Teams here in Guinea are working in the affected regions to manage the bodies of those killed by Ebola virus disease, as handling the deceased is one of the primary ways the virus has been spreading. The International Red Cross is supporting them to make sure they have the knowledge and equipment to safely carry out their life-saving work.