May update from Spain…
On Monday Valencia will move to Phase 2. The big change for me is the ability to do sport multiple times a day and without distance/time restrictions. And, kids will be allowed out anytime they want. The only remaining restriction is to not be outside for sport from 10 am to 12 pm and 7 pm to 8 pm so the 70+ demographic can have some exclusive time outside.
What else is new? Restaurants can open and be at 30% capacity indoors. They were allowed to open if they had a terrace a few weeks ago, but only at 50% capacity with space between tables. Most have stayed closed. The beach is going to open too. And, come July 1st Spain will open up foreign inbound/outbound travel.
What’s next for us?
We are thinking about doing a road trip to Southern France (once the borders reopen in July). We don’t plan to eat indoors, just outside. And, we plan to rent AirBNBs and cook most of our meals inside. We want to do a lot of hikes, eat some delicious things, see some history, and explore (I plan to do some bike rides!). We are still waiting to see if this makes sense, but it looks good so far.
Thoughts right now…
- I look at what I see coming down the economic pipeline and I am dumbfounded with the stock market and some individual’s reactions. I do not think people see the absolute economic tsunami that is building and about to break over our heads. There is nothing to compare it with. With the data on Covid so far I do not see how you can keep operating any business that has people talking indoors and not expect this thing to spread like wildfire (schools, restaurants, airplanes, etc). I am hopeful that contract tracing and massive testing could keep this from spreading… but so far I don’t see much promise there (esp with the Federal response in the USA).
- I think the decision to shut down the economy to stop this from spreading was the right decision given the information we had at the time. That said, I am beginning to think that a response that pushes the young in front of this thing might make sense. It hurts me to say that… and I am still debating it in my head. Maybe by reopening schools, you infect the young and their parents who are the least likely to die from this. I don’t like it but I am having a hard time seeing other options right now in the USA… and possibly in Europe. The economy isn’t everything, but it annoys me when people think it is just about money.
- I’ve been thinking about how restaurants could survive, can they partition off tables with massive individual filtration and airflow going up? Can governments push a bit of a Marshal plan to re-invent how we do public spaces?
- I’ve been trying to look for a really good mask with a fan to provide better airflow. So far there are a few emerging but all sold out.
- The 2020 USA election terrifies me. American society in its current state terrifies me. It is like spending 20 years watching a Volcano build and build… what is going to happen?
- Watching a lot of people think we are going to go back to normal and that we beat this thing, and wondering what is going to happen politically and economically when they realize Covid isn’t going anywhere…
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