Pedal to the Metal, baby
Suddenly, we are in a mad rush to accelerate the next phase of reopening. Without waiting to see what the effect of the initial loosening of the lockdown has been (it is my understanding that this requires a minimum of 14 days if you consider the average 6-day incubation period, the appearance of symptoms - or not - which may or may not lead to testing, and the inevitable lag in reporting the test result), the government has decided to put the pedal to the metal. As of next week, hairdressers, beauty salons, bars and restaurants will open, provided they are able to institute the government guidelines for hygiene and physical distances. We will finally be able to see friends but must continue to refrain from congregating. There is talk about gyms reopening on May 25th. Interregional travel, as per my last blog, remains set for June 1st, provided the necessary conditions are met.
In a move to rescue at least some of the tourist industry for the summer, the European Union has issued a recommendation about travel within Europe. The principle is that countries that have similar circumstances should lift their borders. But won’t this inevitably lead to bilateral agreements between nations that will exclude those countries that have been the worst hit by the virus, like Italy and Spain? Germany and Austria seem to have already agreed to reopen to each other on June 15th (let’s call it the Corona-Anschluss). Switzerland has declared it will reopen its borders to all countries except Italy on June 15th. How thoughtful.
There has been a lot of arguing, protesting and debating the government guidelines set for each industry. While in factories workers are only required to be one meter apart, the government has set seemingly arbitrary and different distances for each industry. There have to be 5 meters in between beach umbrellas, 4 square meters for each client at a restaurant, 2 meters between clients at the hairdresser and so on, and so forth. Some local governors have protested, saying that if one meter is enough in the factory, it should be enough everywhere else. The debate has been dubbed the “War of the Meter”. I don’t know what the science behind these decisions is (or if this is strange ploy to confuse the enemy, or rather, the public), but from what I understand, considering that it appears that the majority of infections happen through droplets and aerosol spread, distances should be far greater indoors than outdoors and not vice-versa. In a highly informative German podcast that I have been listening to, Dr. Christian Drosten, Germany’s top virologist argues that in outdoor environments, where constant air flow blows the droplets and aerosol particles away, a 2 meter distance is hardly necessary. Incidentally, if the topic of airborne transmission interests you, have a read of this article.
And so, the waiting game continues. Strangely, there has been no more news about the infamous tracing app “Immuni” promised by the Italian government. The WHO has now warned the Coronavirus may never go away (Donald Trump must think this is tremendously bad). Will the mask become a wardrobe staple? I am still resisting the idea of the “cute” mask, but if I am going to be wearing one every day for the foreseeable future, I may well cave to the idea of getting one that matches my outfit.