Published in El Pais, 22 September 2020.
As part of a transition to back to normal, some governments are allowing restaurants to open under special conditions. Where I live, they first allowed outdoor patio dining only, now they are allowing some to eat inside under a limited capacity. Normally a patio is considered a luxury for a restaurant so to level the playing field cities have closed off parts of the street to create a patio for them. This creative idea has provided them a much-needed lifeline as they try to stay open.
The idea of course has proven popular, but it has one fatal flaw, patios are seasonal. Summer only ended a few days ago and yet we are already experiencing weather around 10 degrees and while we Canadians have a higher tolerance for cold, we do not exactly call this patio weather. Upon walking down, a popular street I noticed patios almost deserted whereas only a couple a weeks ago they were full (relatively speaking).
The nicer weather has also been a haven for many people as they had been going outside for exercise, having socially distant gatherings in the park, or going to the wilderness to explore. As the weather gets colder and we get closer to winter we will be forced indoors and already being fatigued by the pandemic people will ignore social distancing rules by going to parties or dinners that will have been deemed unsafe.
To combat this governments should promote activities that take advantage of the cold weather, subsidize cold weather clothing for low income families and organize socially distant events that could convince people to go outside rather than hang out with their friends inside.
Everyone is talking about a second wave and for parts of the world it has already happened, as much as we keep telling everyone to stay safe and stay at home it is really no longer an option. People are being pushed to their limits and if government officials do not at least try to help them safely socialize then people will do so unsafely.
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