Hanging with the neighbours - at a safe distance in the age of coronavirus

Craving fresh air and company, Oregon locals escape their homes for a modified block party

SHOWS: PORTLAND, OREGON, UNITED STATES (MARCH 19, 2020) ( BYRON BECK, WRITER - MUST ON SCREEN COURTESY BYRON BECK, WRITER/ NO RESALE) 1.

MOVING SHOT SHOWING WOMAN SITTING ON LAWN CHAIR WHILE ANOTHER NEIGHBOUR STANDS SEVERAL FEET AWAY FROM HER ON HER FRONT LAWN 2.

VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WAVING AND SPEAKING TO EACH OTHER WHILE KEEPING A SEVERAL FOOT DISTANCE STORY: It isn't your typical block party.

There are no hot dogs or cold beers but there's plenty of neighbourly chit-chat.

The socializing, however, is all done -- at safe distance -- ideally six feet (1.8 meters), in keeping with health experts' recommendations for preventing the spread of coronavirus.

Portland resident Byron Beck, 57, came up with the idea of the modified block party when he found himself craving fresh air and company, after days of self-isolating.

Beck and his neighbours have been meeting up from 1700 PT (0000 GMT) to 1800 PT (0100 GMT) each day since Tuesday (March 17).

The party has even earned its own hashtag - "#OutsideAt5." (Production: Gavino Garay, Deborah Gembara, Pola Grzanka)