Debate in the time of coronavirus: An elbow bump greeting for Biden and Sanders

Democratic U.S. presidential candidates former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders do an elbow bump in place of a handshake as they greet other before the start of the 11th Democratic candidates debate of the 2020 U.S. presidential campaign, held in CNN's Washington studios without an audience because of the global coronavirus pandemic, in Washington, U.S. March 15, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

(Reuters) - Joe Biden smiled and reached his elbow out to touch his rival Bernie Sanders' arm on Sunday, an unusual greeting that started a Democratic presidential debate during the coronavirus pandemic.

Sanders and Biden, vying for their party's nomination to face Republican President Donald Trump in the November election, met in a Washington television studio with no live audience in the room, a move also made to limit possible exposure to the virus.