WHAT WILL OUR NEW REALITY LOOK LIKE ON JUNE 1?
Some of our strict lockdown practises of the past seven weeks will begin to be lifted starting today, May 1. I hope that this is a very gradual and closely monitored process and I am starting to reflect on how the changes will look on an everyday basis. Looking into my cloudy crystal ball, I foresee the following practises and some possible new ones becoming part of our new reality.
Everyone who enters any establishment - a mall, restaurant, small business or any commercial store - will be required to wear a face mask. It is important to continue to reduce the risks of any virus from spreading from a carrier to someone who is not infected. Not only will store employees be required to wear masks but all customers will as well. No mask, no admission. It just makes sense.
All stores which are allowed to open must have hand sanitizer readily available at every entrance. Sanitizing will not be an option. This will now provide store security guards with something meaningful to do - to make sure that all customers comply. No sanitizer use, no admission.
In time, I am sure that we will have developed a sensitive long-distance electronic thermometer that will scan the face of each person entering a store for elevated temperatures. It could be located at the sanitizer station and sound an alarm if it detects a person with a high temperature or fever. The person may not be infected with a virus but they are obviously not healthy and shouldn’t be allowed to enter.
I wonder if the old-fashion drive-in restaurants will make a comeback. Cars will park in the lot next to an outdoor speaker and the order will be sent to the kitchen. When the order is complete, a server will bring the food on a tray that attaches to your rolled down car window and we will eat in our cars instead of in the food outlet. I will take us back to a different era and who knows, we may see Richie Cunningham and The Fonz in the next car. While we are at it, perhaps the drive-in movie may also make a comeback. You will just have to bring your own popcorn and drinks. Physical distancing at its best!
If two families have not had any symptoms or contact with an infected person, perhaps they could begin to meet again socially. Of course, I am thinking of family units that live in different locations in the same city. Family pods could be established still using a minimum of physical contact and maintaining the current cleanliness and physical separation routines that we have been practising. If family pods continue to be symptom-free perhaps in a few weeks they could expand the circle to a maximum of ten people. I think it would take a lot of strain off of many individuals and provide everyone with the social connections that have been so sorely missed.
More and more technology will be developed and made available to help us deal with physical distancing issues. For example, one is already about to be made available. A free app devised by Lanterne, a UK start-up company, uses satellite data and artificial intelligence technologies to identify where people are congregating anywhere in the world. People who need to leave home to go to the supermarket or the pharmacy can check before they depart whether the shops are becoming crowded. If there are too many people, they can delay their trip until its less busy or switch to less-crowded shops nearby. I am sure that we will soon be learning of many more new apps that are quickly being developed to share relevant information with us all.
If you are interested in upcoming apps that will contact you on your iPhone if you have been near to a contagious person go to :
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