Priego's poem is about an infectious disease that spreads through the very things that make us human. The title and the mention of "droplets & breath" suggest a pandemic, though the poem never names one. Its list is made of ordinary gestures: shaking hands, kissing "once or twice," popping in for a cup of tea, saying "cheers" or "give me five." Each is a small act of warmth, and the poem shows how those same acts let the plague travel.
The speaker sounds rueful rather than angry. The casual phrases, like "y'alright mate" and "would you like a top-up," feel affectionate and familiar, so the reader is pulled into what is being lost. The odd interruption, "don't stand so close to me," turns a love-song line into a warning.
The last line, "And they thought we could raise fences," is the sharpest. It hints at a quiet irony: walls and barriers are no match for something that lives in closeness itself. The mood is tender, uneasy and a little sad.