All of us are eager to return to the days before we were in lockdown from COVID-19. Where we could eat in restaurants, go shopping at stores and malls, go to the movies, travel, and yes, even go to work. The truth is that having things return to pre-COVID-19 may take at least a year or more. For sure it won’t be until the vast majority of the world can receive the future vaccine for COVID-19.
Until that day, we will be needing to adjust our actions and procedures to ensure that the virus is not easily transferred from person to person. What will this look like? How will our world change so that we can open up our economy again and get back to our “regular” routine? Here is a broad look at how our world may look like when this happens.
Overall
There will need to be a massive increase in testing & contact tracing before all businesses will be able to reopen and activities will return to normal.
Governments may require all employees and customers of businesses to wear masks/face-coverings for the foreseeable future.
Some facilities may decide to check each person’s temperature before they enter.
Regular sanitization will be needed for areas that are commonly touched by employees and customers alike.
Physical/social distancing of 6ft will continue to be advised, this may require stores to limit their occupancy.
Grocery/Retail stores
Regularly sanitize baskets, carts and checkout counters. Install Plexiglas barriers at checkout stations. Urge use of self-checkout stations. To see a more in-depth analysis read our blog post “Re-opening retail around the country after Covid-19” http://covid19guards.com/re-opening-retail-around-the-country-after-covid-19/
Restaurants/Bars
Seating will be limited to allow for social distancing, this will increase wait times for customers. It will be urged for people to order takeout if they don’t want to wait. Employees will most likely be wearing a mask/face-covering.
Skating Rings/Bowling Alleys
Every other lane for bowling may be closed for social distancing. Sanitizing of all sports equipment in between use will be required/advised. Skating rings may take longer to open or have very limited access because of the challenge for people to be able to maintain 6ft from one another.
Movie Theaters/Plays/Performances
Seating may be limited to ensure physical/social distancing. Face masks may be required which will be challenging to enforce since people may be eating and drinking during the movie/performance.
Parks
Group sizes may be limited to small numbers for the foreseeable future. Water fountains may be turned into automatic water bottle refilling stations.
Extracurricular sport activities
Close physical activity in large groups may need to be limited for some time. When groups do play together regular hand washing will be critical as well as possibly wearing face masks.
Offices
People sitting in cubicles or close desks may require barriers to be put in place for physical separation. Many companies may continue to have their employees telecommute for a longer period of time. Socializing may require people to wear masks and physically/socially distance.
Schools
Classroom sizes may be limited to 12 or fewer students which would require staggered schedules having half the students come to school Monday and Wednesday and the other half come Tuesday and Thursday. Sports and PE may be postponed until all students are vaccinated.
Airports/Flights
To help ensure that travelers are not sick when traveling, a pre-flight health screening may be done at the airport. Because of the massive decrease in flights since January, a large percentage of flights have been cancelled and the number of flights will continue to stay low for the foreseeable future. Ticket prices will most likely be going up.
Sports Arenas/Entertainment Venues
Limited seating will be required at first to sustain physical/social distancing. The self-serve food & beverage areas will be removed, and water fountains will be turned into automatic water bottle refilling stations. All purchases will be done with credit card or through a phone app.
Please let us know how you see our communities adapting to the new normal with COVID-19. How will you be changing you daily life?
References:
https://www.npr.org/2020/04/24/842528906/what-it-might-look-like-to-safely-reopen-schools
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