#Take Responsibility: Non-Verbal Modes as Discursive Strategies in Managing Covid-19 Public Health Crisis

Oluwabunmi Opeyemi Oyebode & Saheed Omotayo Okesola Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria

Abstract This paper examines different modes of non-verbal communication deployed as discursive strategies/safety protocol measures during the Covid-19 crisis to warn people against contracting the disease and to contain its spread. The data, which consist of forty purposively selected images used by the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control and remodified logos of some international brands shared on the social media space—NCDC website, Facebook and Twitter, are divided into four broad categories and analysed qualitatively using Kress and van Leeuwen’s Social Semiotic framework to examine their representational meanings. These non-verbal modes of communication are used as representations to create awareness about the pandemic, depict its manifestations (signs and symptoms) and educate people on the important guidelines to observe in order to prevent contracting the infectious disease. Thus, different semiotic resources are deployed as meaning-making processes to interrogate these thematic categories. The study concludes that the choice of the non-verbal modes/images are intentional and strategic as their specificity projects the intended meaning of the message, enhances wider reach and enables effective communication of proper management of the health crisis.

Keywords: social semiotics, non-verbal modes, discursive strategies, Covid-19, crisis

1. Introduction

Effective communication during health crisis (epidemic or pandemic) is as important as its medical management. Crisis communication should focus on practices, policies, and ethics that prevent or staunch the harm of this crisis (Heath, 2010, p. 1). And to achieve any organized/desired response to a crisis situation, whether it is a natural disaster, an epidemic or a major terrorist attack (Coombs, 2010), the role of communication is apparent. “Communication is a central aspect of health and healthcare provision” (Harvey & Adolphs, 2012, p. 470) and as Sarangi (2004) points out “it is concerned with how discourse produces a cause and effect” (p. 3). Studies have shown that to achieve great success, contain the spread and mitigate the lethal effect of the outbreak of any infectious disease among humans, it is important for all the stakeholders to be fully armed with the ability to communicate clearly and effectively during the crisis. Ineffective crisis communication, as Coombs (2010, p. 719) opines, “can intensify the damage suffered by stakeholders and organizations during a crisis, while successful crisis communication protects stakeholders and organizations”. As Gupta (2020) opines, relaying credible and trustworthy information can play a positive role in containing a public health crisis. Many of the epidemiological crises that had occurred across the world, ranging from the outbreak of Cholera (1817), Influenza (1918), HIV (1981) to Ebola (1976), were successfully stemmed as a result of effective communication from public health experts and other stakeholders. Arguably, as specified by the World Health Organisation (WHO),

Effective risk communication is an essential element of outbreak management. When the public is at risk of a real or potential health threat, treatment options may be limited, direct interventions may take time to organize and resources may be few. Communicating advice and guidance, therefore, often stands as the most important public health tool in managing a risk. Pro-active communication encourages the public to adopt protective behaviors, facilitates heightened disease surveillance, reduces confusion and allows for a better use of resources—all of which are necessary for an effective response. (WHO Outbreak Communication Guidelines, 2005)

2. Communication in Public Health Crisis

Communication lies at the heart of any effective public health campaign and the only way to contain a health emergency such as the one we face today with the outbreak of Covid-19, is to create appropriate channels of communication that relay correct information to the public (Gupta, 2020). Coronavirus is the current pandemic the world is battling with today. On 11 March 2020, the WHO declared the outbreak of a pandemic and the world has never been the same since then. Beyond the scientific efforts being made on a daily basis by health experts and scientists across the nations of the world to get medical solution to the pandemic, effective communication has also been on the top gear by the WHO and governments of different nations to create awareness about the pandemic, communicate the impending risk/threat to human existence as well as provide appropriate safety guidelines/protocols people should observe to avoid contracting the disease. This is crucial as improper information dissemination can prove to be more dangerous than having no information at all. As stated in the WHO (Outbreak Communication Guidelines, 2005), “communication failures have the capacity to delay outbreak control, undermine public trust and compliance, and unnecessarily prolong economic, social and political turmoil”. Therefore, the organisation believes and acknowledges that communication expertise is as essential to outbreak control as epidemiological training and laboratory analysis. As the world scrambles to contain the pandemic, the import of effective communication has become more critical than ever before as a well-crafted plan will fail without effective crisis communication (Coombs, 2010). This present study, therefore, explores the social semiotic significance of some of the non-verbal communication modes deployed by Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and some international brands to communicate specific meanings that resonate with the populace irrespective of their race, cultural diversity, language, and educational status about the virulent disease and what should be their response to the pandemic.

2.1 The role of non-verbal communication in public health crisis

According to Kudesia and Elfenbein (2013, p. 468), “Any form of communication that does not specifically use words is considered nonverbal”. In the words of Anderson (1999, p. 74), “nonverbal communication is a pervasive and powerful form of human behaviour, which involves a subtle, non-linguistic, multidimensional, spontaneous process”. It includes but is not limited to communication through waving of hand, through nodding of head, through different facial expressions, through gesturing, through body posture, through the use of images, through the use of symbols, and the use of other strategies devoid of words. Usually, non-verbal behaviour interacts with verbal behaviour in that it can stress the verbal content, complement it, substitute for it, repeat it, regulate it, or even contradict it. Non-verbal behaviour seems to have a certain primacy over the verbal content (Knapp & Hall, 2010). Thus, nonverbal communication refers to the different means through which people convey information to other people without the use of verbal language.

Non-verbal cues serve important functions in human social life, including expressing emotions, communicating threats, conveying interpersonal attitudes such as friendliness, insult, or dominance, communicating involvement in interaction, etc. Studies in communication during health crisis (Mast, 2007; Mast & Cousin, 2013; Martin & DiMatteo, 2013; Ali, 2018) have shown its importance in the management of health crisis, its influence on the overall outcome and potency in the treatment of patients, as well as in precautionary or safety protocols. Given that communication during health crisis usually involves people from different social backgrounds, including those with little or no formal education at all, practitioners and stakeholders in the health sector often rely on, and infuse non-verbal communication strategies that would appeal to the generality of the people irrespective of their socio-economic class and background. Mast and Cousin (2013) examine the role of non-verbal communication in medical interactions in a study that reveals the different functions of non-verbal behaviour and its importance in medical contexts. The study presents empirical evidence showing how medical practitioners’ non-verbal behaviours affect different patient outcomes such as satisfaction, trust, and adherence. In spite of its relevance in health management, it has not enjoyed much scholarly attention in research on healthcare or health crisis management (see Mast, 2007; Finset, 2007; Mast & Cousin, 2013; Ali, 2018). As these scholars observed, communication during health crisis is done more through non-verbal modes; Thus, an in-depth analysis and understanding of health crisis communication must also pay critical attention to nonverbal communication. This is because it is not only what is said or the message that is important but also the way it is said or assurance of delivery and elicitation of appropriate response from the people.

In health crisis communication, medical practitioners and other stakeholders opt for the form of communication which they believe is most appropriate and will aid receivers’ understanding of messages sent to them, and elicit appropriate action or response (see WHO Outbreak Communication Guidelines, 2005; Coombs, 2014). Therefore, in health crisis communication such as the Covid-19 crisis, which in a way is a multicultural communication, the emphasis is often on how people with different social backgrounds around the world can disseminate information and communicate health crisis management without barriers in the delivery of intended messages. With the same virus ravaging the world, spreading, and infecting people in virtually all nations and regions of the world, it became apparent to all that humanity has a common enemy to fight, and defeating this common enemy means communicating with all. This reality and consequent declaration of Covid-19 as a global pandemic by the WHO have convinced the world leaders and stakeholders that there is a need for collective and deliberate communicative strategies to educate the populace in the fight against the virus.

2.2 Trends in communication during the Covid-19 crisis

Since the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic in late December, 2019, the nonverbal communication modes have gained prominence as one of the preferred modes of communication in different contexts. This reiterates Coombs (2014, p. 2) that “each crisis has the potential to create unique communication demands in order to produce consistent results”. The main issues for most people in communicating ideas or thoughts during the crisis period are the intention of the sender in the communicative task, the choice of language, the choice between spoken and written forms, choice of appropriate words, the target audience (known or unknown), the relationship between the sender and the receiver, among others. The outbreak of Covid-19 greatly influenced human communication in unprecedented ways. Given that human communication is essentially result-driven and a cooperative task between a minimum of two parties (sender and receiver), there was a surge in the preference for non-verbal communication modes in order to reach the greatest number of people from different sociocultural backgrounds during the crisis. This is because the aim of the encoders of messages during this crisis is to pass across message(s) intended to influence the action of the receivers or make them behave in a particular manner. Important messages about the Covid-19 crisis are deliberately packaged in an inclusive manner that would not leave out any segment of the society. This deliberate shift of attention to non-verbal communication could be argued to be due to the fact that the world is contending with a virus that does not respect race, class, age, or borders. Another consideration is the recognition of the fact that messages during this pandemic period target the generality of the people (old and young, rich and poor, educated and uneducated), hence the need to use modes that would resonate with everyone. These essential pieces of information and critical messages as regards how to stay safe and contain the spread of the virus during the pandemic are passed across through the use of images, pictures, signs, symbols, emojis, among others, as opposed to the single-mode of verbal communication through linguistic resources (spoken and written words). Thus, it becomes imperative to examine the different representational meanings these non-verbal modes are deployed to convey in combating and managing the Covid-19 crisis.

3. Data Source and Theoretical Orientation

The data for this study are visuals (images and pictures) purposively selected from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control’s (NCDC) Facebook page and the official Twitter handle @NCDCgov with the hashtags #COVID19Nigeria and #TakeResponsibility used in fighting the pandemic in Nigeria. The images selected are those used to campaign against the spread of Covid-19 on these online platforms between January and April, 2020. These online sources were monitored daily during the said period for update on efforts aimed at stemming the spread of the deadly virus. Additional data were also drawn from the redesigned logos of four international brands during the Covid-19 pandemic. The selected brands are some of those whose logos were deliberately redesigned in response to the pandemic in order to play their role as part of the stakeholders in communicating the risk and threat the virus poses to humanity and pass across crucial messages about what should be people’s responsibility to the virus. These brands’ logos were redesigned in an inclusive way that would appeal to all their customers around the world, irrespective of their location, language, culture, or educational level. The purposively selected brands are from the food and confectionary (McDonalds), automobile (Audi), e-commerce and online marketing (Mercado Libre), as well as financial services and payment solutions (MasterCard).

The analysis of the data hinges on Kress and van Leeuwen’s (2006) social semiotic approach to representational meaning in order to project the intended meaning of different kinds of non-verbal modes deployed to convey specific messages to the people during the Covid-19 crisis. According to Jewitt and Oyama (2001, p. 139), “representational meaning is first of all conveyed by the (abstract or concrete) ‘participants’ (people, places or things) depicted.” This is concerned with the people, places and objects within a visual text. According to Harrison (2003, p. 51), “the representational strand reflects a functional description of the state-of-affairs depicted by represented participants in the visual text.” Represented participants (RPs) are visual images used as configurations of visual messages within the visual text by virtue of their actions and inactions in the text layout. Representational meaning lays emphasis on communication appropriate for the study of images (irrespective of the kind), which were presumably created with the intention to communicate, or to express the creator’s feeling, or to elicit an (intended) emotional response in viewers. This is because images do not only represent the world (whether in abstract or concrete ways); they also play a part in some interaction and, with or without accompanying text, constitute a recognizable kind of text (a painting, a political poster, a magazine advertisement, etc.).

There are two kinds of images for representational meaning which are narrative images and conceptual images. Narrative images have four processes: action process, reactional process, speech and mental process, and conversation process; Conceptual images involve three kinds: classificational process, analytical process and symbolic process. According to Kress and van Leeuwen (2006), images and all other visual modes of communication are semiotic resources for representation of socially and culturally motivated meanings. This study, therefore, investigates different representational meanings of the non-verbal modes the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and some international brands deployed as discursive strategies to contain the spread of the virulent disease and communicate specific messages on what should be people’s response to the pandemic.

4. Data Analysis and Discussion

This section analyses the different categories of non-verbal modes deployed as discursive strategies to convey specific messages. The analysis indicates that the nonverbal modes dominate the crisis communication and serve as representations of the danger/threats Covid-19 portends, the signs, symptoms of the virus, the recommended actions to be taken and the different methods of preventing contracting Covid-19. These are discussed in the following sub-sections.

4.1 Non-verbal communication of threat

There is a lot of non-verbal communication of danger during the Covid-19 crisis. However, one major landslide about the communication of the threat Covid-19 portends to the generality of the people is in its visual representation as a mysterious spiky fuzz-ball waiting to destroy or as invisible germs hibernating on any surface including human bodies (hand, face, nose, etc.) ready to infect on contact. Texts 1 and 2 below are non-verbal representations of Covid-19 and the inherent danger the virus is capable of doing.

Text 1. Non-verbal communication of threat—Visual representation of the coronavirus

Text 1 is a visual representation of the novel virus, Covid-19, and the threat it poses to humanity. The image is a spiky fuzz-ball (Valko, 2020) digitally produced by medical artists at the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a popular coronavirus image whose depiction has struck some kind of danger and threat the virus portends across the world. This image has become known to a lot of people in many homes across different territories and nations all over the world, such that it serves as a handy visual tool to warn people against the novel coronavirus. The spiky fuzz-ball is the represented participant (henceforth, RP) in the text and it is an example of a symbolic process under conceptual images. The image is an abstract object used symbolically to communicate what coronavirus represents in the real world.

Since its emergence in late 2019, medical experts and health communicators have represented the virulent disease with this visual mode to communicate effectively to people around the world irrespective of their cultural diversity, language or educational status. However, its representation in Text 1 is more striking and instructive as the text producer presents the spiky fuzz-ball in a very dangerous manner. The virus is portrayed as a form of monster with sharp blood-sucking teeth ready to eat up its prey (human beings) and wreak havoc. Thus, the image is socially motivated to convey a specific meaning. Beyond conveying its identity in the real world, the text producer tries to project to the viewers (humans generally) the harm the virus causes when they come in contact with it. Therefore, the text is a subtle admonition to the people to obey the “stay at home order” directed by the CDC, the WHO, and government of different nations of the world as stepping outside their doors as depicted by the open door in the text could expose them to contracting the virus.

Apart from the spiky fuzz-ball used as a visual tool to communicate the identity of the deadly Covid-19 and the threat it poses, another way stakeholders have communicated risk and the threat the virus portends is in the shaking of hands as illustrated in Text 2:

Text 2. Non-verbal communication of threat—The shaking of hands

Text 2 is an example of Kress and van Leewuen’s (2006) action process under narrative images. The text producer succinctly depicts the danger that lies in the shaking of hands during Covid-19 as the virus hibernates on surfaces waiting to infect people at any given contact. The visual representation of germs on the hands of the RPs in the text is to visually project the probable transmission of the virus when people shake hands during the health crisis. Though the image is an exaggerated, magnified representation of the germs, the text producer strategically deploys the image to make the invisible “visible” in order to avert people’s minds to the existence of human microbic enemies and also warn against the danger inherent in the shaking of hands during the pandemic. The text shows that the norm of shaking hands may lead to crisis and cause danger to human health, therefore, the need to change routines. The image stresses the need for people to refrain from the shaking of hands as one of the ways to contain the spread of Covid-19. This non-verbal mode of communication makes the message explicit, easier to understand and accessible to people of all literacy and educational levels. The fight against Covid-19 is a collective one, and everyone has to join the fight against this common enemy. The best people can do is to put measures in place to contain and check the ravaging effects of the virus. Therefore, to stay safe and free from the virus, people are to avoid the shaking of hands as one infected hand can infect other hands in the process of hand shaking. The fear of misinterpretation or wrong delivery of the message by the receivers is to a very large extent addressed by simply adopting a non-verbal mode of communication. These important features of non-verbal communication (precision and exactitude) and the peculiarity of this global health emergency—Covid-19 crisis is one of the main reasons for the preference of this representational mode.

In managing Covid-19, handshake is discouraged as an important step to flatten the curve of the virus. The message is that this social practice that has become part of human daily routine and socialisation is to be avoided during this pandemic to effectively manage the crisis. The text is a visual narration of how the virus is transmitted to another person when an infected person shakes hand with another person. By visually representing what happens to the two hands (i.e. people) in the handshake—the transmission of the virus, which is an undesirable development, people are counselled to avoid the age-long practice in order to contain the spread of the virus. This text reiterates the strategic role non-verbal modes and infographics play in effective communication of risk during the Covid-19 pandemic.

4.2 Non-verbal communication of warning

Since the announcement of the first confirmed coronavirus case in Nigeria by the Federal Ministry of Health in Lagos State, Nigeria, on 27th of February 2020, governments at different levels have continued to warn and educate people on the importance of early detection of suspected infection. The first case was an Italian who returned to Nigeria from Milan, Italy, to Lagos, Nigeria. Expectedly, efforts have been made by the NCDC to warn people of the need to be proactive in the handling of suspected cases or symptoms of Covid-19. Texts 3 and 4 below are samples of nonverbal modes deployed as discursive strategies to warn people by the centre.

Text 3. Non-verbal communication of warning—Running nose and chest pains

Text 3 is a collage of different representational images deployed by the text producer as important warning messages to the people about the virus. At the topleft hand of the text is the symbolic representation of the coronavirus—a spiky fuzzball with a mark of approval across it with the statement, “Take Responsibility”. This is what Kress and van Leeuwen (2006) refer to as given information as the symbolic representation of the virus strategically reveals what the information (a familiar knowledge) in the text is all about as well as the necessary action/response the target audience (persons travelling back to Nigeria) are expected to take. Thus the message specifically targets people with travel history as indicated in the representational image of a person with a piece of luggage and the action they need to take if they observe any of the symptoms of the virus depicted through different representational images in the text in order to forestall a health crisis. Using the classificatory process of representational images, the text producer presents different symptoms of Covid-19: headache, chest pain, difficulty in breathing, coughing or sneezing, which could manifest in persons who, while on transit to Nigeria, might have contracted the virus. This process is strategic and instructive as it helps the text producer to vividly represent the symptoms in a more simplified manner devoid of any form of ambiguity to the viewers/target audience irrespective of their level of literacy.

To reinforce the message of taking responsibility and how to go about it, the text producer simply uses the symbolic process to represent the regulatory officials in charge, the NCDC, such persons should contact immediately. The symbolic process reveals the identity of the actual agency that is giving out the warning. Therefore, Text 3 is a non-verbal communication in which different representational images are used as educational toolkit by the NCDC to effectively communicate the symptoms of the virulent disease and to enjoin people with these manifestations in their body/health to quickly seek professional help so as to forestall late detection of the infection, complications, or death. The immediate information or the next line of action in order to get tested for the virus is available with the NCDC, hence the deliberate display of the name of the centre in the text. The text specifically targets this category of people, returnees to Nigeria from different parts of the globe. This is because this category of people constitutes a larger percentage of the recorded cases of the virus in the country. It therefore becomes imperative to warn this group of people to be responsible and act in a responsible manner so as to safeguard not only their own lives but also those of other people around them, who must have had contact with them in one way or another. Text 4 is another example of non-verbal communication of warning to the public on Covid-19 by the NCDC during the crisis.

Text 4. Non-verbal communication of warning—Difficulty in breathing

Text 4 is a visual representation of one of the symptoms of Covid-19, which is difficulty in breathing or shortness of breath. The text producer opens up the text/discourse with given information about what the message of the text is all about—Covid-19 and the expected action to be taken. This is depicted through the symbolic representation of the virus as a spiky fuzz-ball and the mark of approval of taking responsibility which has been the hallmark of the risk communication around the virus since it struck the human race in the latter part of 2019. Thus, anywhere this symbol is seen, people already know the discourse is about Covid-19 and the corresponding responsibility people are to take. Using a conceptual image under Kress and van Leeuwen’s (2006) representational strand of the meaning-making process, the text producer gives an analytical representation of how, according to health experts, the virus moves down the respiratory tract of people who have been infected with Covid-19, affecting their lungs and making breathing difficult for them. Through this analytical image, the general public is consequently enjoined to see difficulties in breathing as a sign of possible infection by the virus. Therefore, they are subtly advised to pay adequate attention and respond instantly by calling on health professionals or any of the designated government officials in order to get tested and treated. One of the main consequences of the infection of Covid-19 is complications in the lungs and other respiratory organs. The representational image of the lung is therefore a discursive strategy deployed to counsel and educate people about how important it is for them to pay close attention to any lung-related issues and seek medical help during the pandemic.

4.3 Non-verbal communication of recommended action

Humanity generally has not been more united on any course in recent history than on the fight against Covid-19. The WHO’s declaration of the crisis as a public health emergency of international concern propelled people to step up cooperation at all levels to arrest the spread of the virus. Thus, in order to help humanity navigate with ease while still searching for right medications to control the virus, specific non-pharmaceutical guidelines have been recommended by the WHO and health stakeholders across the globe as measures people should observe and follow so as to stay safe and prevent themselves from contracting the virus. These health protocols are the same across the nations of the world. Towing this line, the NCDC has deployed different representational images to vividly demonstrate these safety protocols in order to keep their message simple and easy to understand for people of all levels of literacy. These safety protocols are: washing of hands with soap and running water, use of sanitiser, staying at home, as well as maintaining social distancing. These are prescribed as ways to contain the virus for now as there is yet to be any scientifically proven medication/vaccine to cure or control the disease. Texts 5, 6, 7, 8 and below are representational images used to enjoin people to practice these preventive measures so as to contain the spread of Covid-19.

Text 5. Non-verbal communication of recommended action—Washing of hands

Text 5 is a representational image of the washing of hands with soap and running water as recommended by the WHO in order to maintain proper personal hygiene and contain the spread of the deadly virus. Using Kress and van Leeuwen’s (2006) action process of narrative image, the text producer vividly depicts a visual narration of the proper way of going about the washing of hands with soap and running water so as to make the message clear to all. One of the most widely recommended safety protocols worldwide to contain the spread of Covid-19 is to break the chain of the infection by disinfecting their hands through the washing of hands with soap and running water or through the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers. Thus, to avoid struggling with the challenge of the most appropriate language in the Nigerian context in delivering the message, the choice of a representational image as a useful toolkit helps the NCDC to pass across the message unambiguously. The recommended action is to wash hands as often as possible as a way of taking precautions against the virus. People, irrespective of their gender or age are encouraged through this non-verbal communication to protect themselves and others around them by taking this simple but important practice of regular hand washing. According to the NCDC, the virus does not move but people do, and by so doing, they invariably enable the spread of the virus by touching people’s hands and other surfaces with infected hands, hence the campaign for regular hand washing to break the chain and contain the spread of the virus.

In a similar non-verbal communication of recommended action, the NCDC also enjoins people to wear face masks in order to protect themselves from contracting the disease even if they come in contact with an infected person. Text 6 is a collage of different degrees of the probability of contracting the virus when people wear masks.

Text 6. Non-verbal communication of recommended action—Wearing of facemasks

Text 6 is a representational image used as visual narration. Using an action process of Kress and van Leeuwen’s (2006) narrative image, the text producer vividly depicts in a simple manner how the virus is transmitted to persons. The arrows serve as the vector in the text to indicate the kind of relationship between the represented participants in the text. While advocating and admonishing on the importance of using mask as one of the recommended safety protocols to contain the spread of the pandemic, the text producer deploys a collage of images to visually represent different degrees of transmission probability when people (Covid-19 carrier and healthy contact) take to this precaution. Using statistics to represent the transmission probability of how people can contract the virus, Text 6 succinctly portrays the wearing of facemask as an important action at this critical time. The use of colours such as “Red” to indicate Covid-19 carrier and “Green” to indicate healthy contact is also significant for meaning in the text. Through colours, the text producer is able to indicate a danger zone from a safe terrain. Thus, colour plays a discursive role in the text as it is used to communicate danger to safety to people. Also through the use of figures the text producer is able to statistically indicate varying degrees of transmission probability when people comply with the directive of wearing masks. The chances are graded statistically to reiterate the import of the safety protocol. Thus, while the representational images portray to the people the need to wear mask as a safety measure, the use of colours and figures in the text strategically reinforce the risk communication by vividly displaying the danger that lies in disobeying this important safety directive. Below in Text 7 is another non-verbal communication of recommended action during the pandemic.

Text 7. Non-verbal communication of recommended action—Disinfecting surfaces

Text 7 is a non-verbal communication of the constant cleaning of surfaces and items as a way of combating and containing the virus. The NCDC painted a picture of the need for people to ensure that they disinfect items and surfaces people come in frequent contact with as much as possible to avoid being infected by coming in contact with touching these surfaces. Thus, the cleaning and disinfecting hands, door knobs, kitchen surfaces, etc., are important precautionary measures toward containing the spread of Covid-19. Practicing this essential health tip during the pandemic will help prevent the spread and reduce the risk of community transmission of the virus among the people. The representational image therefore, shows what exactly is used to disinfect these surfaces. This visual depiction is a discursive strategy used to demonstrate the disinfectants needed and how the disinfection is done. The text is a demonstrative image of the required action by the people. It enhances clarity and easy understanding of the intended message without excluding any member of the society. Combating the virus in this challenging time means that individuals and organisations have to swing to action by adopting new practices and placing priority on ensuring the safety of all. The communication of most of these preventive efforts in non-verbal modes makes the message all-inclusive and non-elitists. Consequently, it becomes easier to effectively mobilise people from all walks of life and collaborate with them to fight the virus and ensure victory.

4.3.1 Non-verbal communication of alternatives to handshake

In managing the Covid-19 pandemic, handshake, an important part of human socialisation and form of greeting across many cultures of the world, has been discouraged as an important step to flatten the curve of the spread of the virus. This social practice that has become part of human daily routine is to be avoided during this pandemic to effectively manage the crisis. As depicted earlier in Text 2, the virus is transmitted to another person when an infected person shakes hand with the person, thus, people are admonished to avoid the age-long practice in order to contain the spread of the virus. To proffer solution to the socio-cultural issues this may cause, efforts have been made to provide different alternatives to handshake as a form of greeting. Text 8 below shows an array of different forms of greeting people can adopt during this pandemic to avoid contracting and transmitting the virus to other people.

Text 8. Non-verbal communication of alternatives to handshake

The text is a representational depiction of different new ways people can greet during this pandemic. Using Kress and van Leeuwen’s (2006) classificational process, the text producer depicts an array of greetings people can adopt to greet one another and show social respect during the pandemic. Since the norm of handshake may lead to health crisis and cause danger to humanity, there is a need to change routines. Therefore, Text 8 provides alternatives to handshake to show people that they can still socialise and live harmoniously with one another in spite of the virus. This peculiar period in the history of humanity has inspired some new forms of greetings and ways of doing things. The world is in a new phase of existence, therefore people are advised to cope with this ‘new normal’ so as to act together and fight the health crisis. The images stress the need for people to refrain from shaking hands as one of the ways to contain the spread of Covid-19. This visual representation of the new forms of greeting therefore makes the message explicit, easier to understand and accessible to people of all literacy and educational levels.

4.3.2 Non-verbal communication of social/physical distancing

Another important recommended action people are implored to observe in the fight against Covid-19 in order to contain the spread of the deadly virus is the practice of social/physical distancing. Thus, premium is placed on the non-verbal mode to campaign this safety protocol of maintaining social/ physical distancing by the NCDC as shown in Text 9.

Text 9. Non-verbal communication of physical distancing

Text 9 is a unique combination of major types of risk communication that dominated the advocacy against the Coronavirus pandemic. These are the condemnation of large gathering, recommendation and encouragement of social/physical distancing and appeal to stay-at-home. The text is a collage of three different representational images deliberately deployed as visual narration by the text producer to convey messages that resonate with the people who are practicing physical distancing, avoiding large gatherings, and staying at home. Using Kress and van Leeuwen’s (2006) narrative image, the text producer vividly condemns certain social practices and at the same time approves and encourages some. The first image in the collage is what Kress and van Leeuwen’s (2006) describe as “given” under information value as the image presents the normal and familiar way people used to crowd together at party, church, train station etc., before the outbreak of Covid-19. Using X as a mark of disapproval in the first image, the text producer condemns the social practice of large gathering as a way to combat the spread of the virus while s/he then uses the other two images on the right side as the “ideal” that is, recommended and approved behavioural actions during the pandemic. The central message of the text, therefore, is that people should practice physical distancing and avoid large gatherings, a major advocacy campaign by the NCDC during the Covid-19 crisis. The non-verbal mode effectively enables NCDC to show acceptable and unacceptable practices and measures aimed at slowing down and containing Covid-19.

4.4 Non-verbal communication of physical distancing by global brands

There is absolutely no area or aspect of human lives where the impact of the coronavirus is not felt. With records of confirmed cases in almost all nations across the world, Covid-19 moved from being a virus seemingly affecting just Wuhan citizens in China to a global pandemic. At the global level, Covid-19 management and containment efforts are coordinated by the WHO, with unprecedented international collaboration with other important partners, organisations, and stakeholders in the health sector. For a virus that is not restricted to one nation or region of the world, efforts to combat the virus soon became the business of all. Therefore, global brands, sport clubs and organisations, and other multinational companies observed the need to complement government efforts in the fight against Covid-19. Consequently, they rolled out different campaigns to prevent the further spread of this most dreaded virus. Text 10 is a collage of such non-verbal communication of social/physical distancing depicted by global brands.

Text 10. A collage of global brands’ logos before and during Covid-19

Text 10 is a collage of the logos of some international brands before and after the Covid-19 pandemic. In the text, four major brands deliberately modified their logos to communicate physical distancing using non-verbal modes. For a virus that does not discriminate based on skin colour, citizenship, social class, age, or geographical border, the international brands indicate that the fight has to be a collective one. Using Kress and van Leeuwen’s (2006) action process of narrative image, the text producers vividly convey a visual narration of the expected change in people in order to curb the spread of the virus. The logos of these popular brands (Audi, MasterCard, MacDonald’s, and Mercado Libre) were redesigned during the Covid-19 crisis to campaign for the practices of physical distancing. In order to disambiguate the message without any fear of misinterpretation, these brands join the campaign through the deliberate distancing of the items in their logos as the expected action for Covid-19 to be defeated. The meaning conveyed by the distancing of the items in these logos is not hidden considering the prevailing situation in the world with respect to the ravaging virus. The preference of these brands in packaging these messages during the Covid-19 crisis period suggests that in communication, targeting people from different cultures and regions of the world, the selection of a particular language may be inappropriate for the message to have wider coverage and be effective.

The deliberate alteration of the brand logos is an action process (see Kress and van Leeuwen, 2006), used as visual narration to communicate the need for physical distancing by the people. The images represent a shift in old ways to the new-normal that the whole world is required to live with. As shown in the text, McDonald’s, a well-known brand in the food and confectionary sub-sector, also engaged in a non-verbal communication of physical/social distancing to the people during the Covid-19 crisis. The logo of this international brand which people are familiar with was modified to communicate social and physical distancing. By so doing, people are called upon to embrace the recommended behavioural change—social/physical distancing as displayed by the brand. The presence of this brand in several nations and regions of the world makes the logo a household name as the deliberate alteration of the logo sends the message clearly in view of the awareness already created by different media about the virus. It is this understanding of the shared knowledge about the present health situation in the world that presents the modification of the logo as non-verbal communication of social and physical distancing. According to professionals, the virus spreads from one person to another through droplets released from the nose or mouth of an infected person when s/he coughs, sneezes, or speaks. People can therefore become infected with the virus if they breathe in these droplets from an infected person, hence, the need for stressing the importance of physical distancing by the brand.

As a form of solidarity to complement the efforts of agencies and stakeholders in the health sector, these notable brands all deliberately separated the items in their logos to advocate a change in people’s behaviour as the needed action to be taken in the management of the Covid-19 crisis. As shown in Text 10 in the logos before the outbreak of the virus, one of the brands (Mercado Libre) with two hands in a handshake in their logo before the outbreak of the virus separated the two hands to show that having the two hands together can spread the virus from one infected person to another. This communicates the recommendation of a change from one old practice to a new one during the Covid-19 crisis. According to the WHO, these and other behavioural changes are capable of reducing the spread by as much as 80% if people adhere strictly and embrace the new social order. One crucial thing that has come to the fore during the Covid-19 crisis is the central role of the people in managing the crisis. People’s actions and inactions have been identified as the most important factor in this global health emergency such that the way they behave and respond to the health crisis plays a significant role in determining the success or failure of health professionals in the fight against Covid-19.

5. Conclusion

In this study, we have shown how government agencies and international brands deployed non-verbal modes as discursive strategies to convey their intended meanings in an inclusive manner in the management of the Covid-19 crisis. The study has shown how these stakeholders deployed non-verbal modes to interrogate major issues central to the safety/health protocols people should embrace in the fight against the health crisis. Using Kress and van Leeuwen’s (2006) Social Semiotic framework, the study examines the representational meanings of the non-verbal modes deployed in the texts. These non-verbal modes of communication are used as visual representations to create awareness about the pandemic, depict its manifestations (signs and symptoms) and educate people on the important guidelines to observe in order to prevent contracting the infectious disease. These important guidelines are recommended actions such as washing of hands, wearing of facemasks, alternative to handshakes, avoiding crowded gathering, staying at home and modified logos of international brands to encourage people to practice social/physical distancing. Thus, through the use of social semiotic concepts such as narrative image and action process, the text producers are able to create important narratives in the texts that indicate the expected behaviours and actions the health stakeholders want people to embrace during the pandemic. The study shows that non-verbal communication contributes immensely to effective dissemination of information during a health crisis without any fear of ambiguity/ misinterpretation by the people irrespective of their sociocultural backgrounds. The study concludes that the choice of the non-verbal modes/images are intentional and strategic as their specificity projects the intended meaning of the message, enhances wider reach and enables effective communication of proper management of the health crisis.