Considering the current situation, summer plans looks bleak in most countries around the world. However, Spain has introduced a new way to allow residents to enjoy the season. Local councils in Spain have figured a new way to make beaches COVID safe. The new system will allow beachgoers to book their space in advance via a mobile phone app. This way, only a certain number of people will be permitted to enter the beach per day.
Canet d’en Berenguer, a Mediterranean beach town just 20 miles north of Valencia, will now be accessible only on basis of reservation. Those who want a spot must download an app to book their spot and times. The beach will be covered with a system of nets, leaving square sections for visitors to pick. The sections are separated by a distance of six feet.
Only 5000 people will be allowed to enter the beach per day- which is half of its normal capacity. People who wish to visit the beach can book a morning or an afternoon spot, but not both. In addition, arrival times will also be staggered to avoid crowding at the beach entrances. Upon arrival, visitors must first check-in with the beach staff. They will then be led to their section of the beach.
Meanwhile, the Atlantic beaches of Sanxenxo also plans to limit visitors on a first-come-first serve basis. The beach will also be separated into sections, five feet apart, to ensure social distancing. There will be smaller sections for couples and larger ones for groups.
Spain hopes to open beaches in June, but the decision still remains fluid.
What Else?
Meanwhile, schools in China are adapting to new means to ensure social distancing. Earlier, pictures of kids wearing specially designed ‘social distancing hats’ in Chinese schools went viral.
A school in Hangzhou was the first to come up this innovative way to teach kids the importance of social distancing. The school welcomed its students in year 1 to 3 returning back to the campus on April 26 and guess what their first assignment was! The kids had to design an innovative hat with a one-meter, or three-foot, diameter. The special head gear has two wing-like flaps that ensure safe distancing between students.
The hats are inspired from what was worn during the Song Dynasty. Back then, these hats were designed by the dynasty’s founding emperor, Taizu, to ensure court etiquette. The hat also prevented ministers from whispering or conspiring against him.
And now, the Administrators at Yangzheng Elementary School asked students to design these Song Dynasty hats to teach them social distancing. Kids used all kinds of materials including balloons, cardboard tubes, and wooden sticks, to make their own hats.
“This was indeed our innovation. We’re advocating students to wear a one-meter hat and maintain one meter’s distance,”Hong Feng, the school’s principal, told the local Zhejiang Daily newspaper. And in case you’re wondering why the school followed a one-meter norm, it is the distance recommended by the World Health Organisation.
Meanwhile, schools in China are slowly resuming after shutting shop in January. However, the students are back in a very different environment and facemasks have now become part of their school uniform. In addition, some schools are also conducting temperature checks at the door, and classrooms have been rearranged to meet social distancing recommendations.