Nations reopen but not able to reconcile to ‘new normal’
Everything is changed. Slowly, slowly, we will try to understand and to adapt to this coronavirus raffaele di cristo
Italian chef
rome — As nations around the world loosen coronavirus restrictions, people are discovering that the return to normal is anything but.
Schools, offices, public transportation, bars and restaurants are now on the front lines of post-lockdown life — back in business, in many cases, but not business as usual.
How each of those key sectors manages social distancing and tamps down expected new outbreaks will determine the shape of daily life for millions as researchers race to develop a vaccine that is still probably months, if not years, away from being available to all.
What a return to normal looks like varies widely. For hungry migrant workers in India, it was finally being able to catch trains back to their home villages to farm while city jobs dried up. For hundreds of cruise ship workers stranded at sea for months, it was finally reaching shore on Wednesday in Croatia. For wealthy shoppers, it was returning to the newly reopened boutiques of America’s Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California.
In Britain, the leader of the House of Commons said members of Parliament should return to London to work in person on June 2 after weeks of remote working. Jacob Rees-Mogg said the decision recognises “the need for business to continue.” Authorities are likely to limit the number of people allowed into the small chamber, where lawmakers sit shoulder to shoulder on long benches.
In Italy, where good food is an essential part of life, once-packed restaurants and cafes are facing a huge financial hit as they reopen with strict social distancing rules. “We have to turn upside down all the activity that we did before,” lamented
chef Raffaele di Cristo, who now must wear a mask and latex gloves as he prepares food at the popular Corsi Trattoria in Rome. “Everything is changed. Slowly, slowly, we will try to understand and to adapt to this coronavirus.”
Some shops in Italy have complained about a shortage of gloves keeping away customers. Veneto Gov. Luca Zaia said he would change the rules on wearing gloves in clothing stores and shoe shops and substitute sanitizing gel instead.
Slovakia reopened theatres, cinemas and shopping malls on Wednesday, all with new restrictions on visitor numbers, even though it has had only 28 deaths from Covid-19.
The head of the Dutch hospitality industry welcomed a decision to allow bars and restaurants to reopen on June 1 but warned about the impact of mandatory social distancing rules.
In South Korea, hundreds of thousands of high school seniors had their temperatures checked and used hand sanitisers as they returned on Wednesday, many for the first time since late last year. Students and teachers were required wear masks, and some schools installed plastic partitions around desks.
France is limiting spaces in its primary schools, giving priority to the children of
essential workers and those in need. Some younger students even go on alternating days, while high schools remain closed.
Business was slow on Wednesday at a Paris farmer’s market with a mixed mood among the masked, gloved vendors. A man selling peonies and petunias said he was glad to get out and see shoppers again, while a woman selling asparagus and tomatoes
behind a makeshift plastic screen grumbled that her customers were buying less than usual.
In Kenya, safari operators have resorted to sharing live broadcasts on social media in hopes that attention to endangered and other species doesn’t fade. Many governments, including those in scores of US states, are in fierce disagreement over what the new normal should even be. —