In response to the global health crisis potentially posed by the Coronavirus, Niantic's official support Twitter account has stated that they will be outright removing the walking requirement for Go Battle League, and laxing the remote battle friendship requirement to Good Friends for the next 30 days, or possibly longer.
This is definitely huge news for those of us that are aiming for Rank 10 in the league in order to reap its rewards, and definitely a good call on Niantic's part. On behalf of the Gamepress community; thank you for allowing us to play Pokemon Go while staying safe, Niantic!