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Coming back to life after lock down!! Here’s a glimpse of how life could be after lock down

Globally the pandemic is still spreading like wildfire, and the number of people affected by Covid-19 has exceeded one million.

Covid-19 has changed over daily routines and lifestyles, all of us want our pre-covid days back and looking ahead for normal life once lockdown is lifted, as vaccine is still months away, things are not expected to be same anytime sooner.

With preventive measures like masks and social distancing here’s how life could be like after lock down ends-

Restaurants & Bars:

In order to keep customers and their employees safe restaurants are brainstorming solutions like reducing number of seats, drones for sanitizing or serving food with mask;

·       Maybe menus will be disposable or laminated and disinfected after each use.

·       Waiters would be wearing gloves and masks with extra sanitization or capacity measures.

·       Limited number of seated orders with tables and chairs sanitized between dinners.

But the challenge dinners will be facing would be inability to wear face mask while eating, it could be riskier as coronavirus can transmit through droplets when u speak and breathe in addition to spreading via coughs and sneezes.

Airports:

·       Dedicated staff with thermometers at all entry points and gates.

·       Passengers to wear face mask and gloves post security and during your long flight.

·       Social distancing at check-in counters with markings.

·       Air lounges are likely to remain closed to help slow the spread of Covid-19.

·       Limited meals and only bottled water to drink.

Some benefits like no middle seats, quite airports.

Metro:

·       Hand sanitization/washing facility at entry points.

·       Passengers to wear face masks and gloves.

·       Thermal screening at entry points.

·       Passengers to keep distance of 2 meters in the queue at the ticket counter.

·       Use of Arogya setu app with in-built epass features for identification of Covid positive persons.

·       Electronic and manual surveillance to be increased.

 Cinemas:

Cinema halls may not be in the best position even after reopening, imagine how many people would go to cinemas after lockdown ends? Very few to none as people may take months to

Overcome their fears and enter crowded places; but on the other hand television entertainment will be back on track after lockdown as producers can start shooting and viewers have not gone anywhere.

·       Intense sanitization of all cinema halls.

·       Digital transactions for tickets, food and beverages.

·       Social distancing within the cinema hall that means fewer tickets per screen.

Shopping malls:

Essential business such as grocery stores, pharmacies are open but shopping malls aren’t; Not every shop within the mall may open at once for instance individual retailers may keep their doors shut to help limit the spread of Covid-19.

·       Shoppers will be encouraged to wear face mask and employees definitely will be.

·       Store hours will be limited so cleaners can rigorously disinfect common areas and bathrooms.

·       Say goodbye to trial rooms.

·       Social distancing to be followed, minimum 6 foot distance between customers.

Schools & Universities:

How and when will the schools reopen? Big question is what type of setting will work with the kids mingling, playing and sharing lunches.

School closures are intensely stressful for many parents who are fearful their children may fall behind; high school seniors are worried about their grades and university admission.

Online learning is mantra of the day – parents, teachers and students are mentally preparing themselves, school administrators, teachers and government officials are brainstorming to create policies that keep students from potentially transforming the virus when school reopens’

With different range of policies around the world, some schools are shut for academic year while others are moving to reopen.

Denmark has reopened lower level schools with set of rules as distancing children’s desks, disinfecting toys, prohibiting sharing of food, and compulsory use of mask for both teachers and students.

According to UNESCO, 91 percent students- more than 1.5 billion children are impacted by school closures; the longer the closures the deeper the impact.

Offices:

Clearly, things are only going to get back to normal slowly; from employees getting back to work in crowded elevators to taking off food from communal canteen is not going to be acceptable for some time.

Massive cultural shift can be observed in future due to phone and video calls; say goodbye to the groomed work identity as you no longer need the same business wardrobe especially you don’t need business wardrobe below the waist with “social” use of zoom playing striking role with employees worldwide.

Mandatory guidelines for workplaces:

·       Compulsory face mask.

·       Social distanced desk.

·       Provision for thermal scanner, hand wash, sanitizers preferably with touch free mechanism at all entry and exit points.

·       Deep sanitization of entire workplace and common facilities.

·       Employees above 65 years of age, pregnant women shall stay at home.

·       Compulsory use of Arogya setu app.

·       Large physical meetings will be avoided.

Some companies might call 50% of its employees to work in offices; some might call only essential employees while others might stick to work from home.

Anything we do when we exit lockdown is not without risk which is why proper strategy is required to make sure we are safe.

(Written by Raavya Sarda)