Well, yeah, but Book!WWZ zombies are not super fast (a la Movie!WWZ) nor do they ejaculate bodily fluids on you [1] (a la 28 Days Later), so theoretically slashing/bashing-and-dashing would be quite feasible for poorer countries or isolated communities that don't have fancy(ish) zombie fighting stiff like the Lobo or SIR. You'd still need some kind of face cover, but that should be easy to make.I imagine getting in close when the virus spreads through bodily fluids is a recipe for infection. Max Brooks says it can still be infectious 48hrs after the destruction of it’s host, which is one reason why the dead have to be burned. He actually says dead zeds should be treated as ‘highly toxic, highly lethal’ material. You’d have to fight with goggles/masks on, and burn or otherwise disinfect the clothes you’d fought in.
Obviously there are cases where people are forced into close combat in the books, but as a deliberate strategy it’s probably not great.
[1] Anndddddd within a decade of V-A Day, someone's going to (at least try ) make zombie porn. #rule34
Marc A