From tomorrow evening all bars and restaurants in Catalonia will be closed until the end of the month. The restaurants will be able to operate on a take-out basis but it is going to look awfully like the lockdown of the hard days of early spring.
Gyms (and presumably swimming pools) will be open but capacity is cut to 30% - whatever that means. At the moment swimming in our pool is restricted to pre-booking and ten swimmers per hour, so I am assuming that will stay the same.
Although we have some information of the wider details of the restrictions, we are still not clear about what rules apply to transport, meeting people, shopping etc etc etc.
At the height of the lockdown here in Catalonia we were not allowed out of our houses except for essential journeys to get food and medicines. Exercise outside your home was only for those with dogs who were allowed to take them outside by no further than 100 metres or so. I don’t want to go over any more of the restrictions because, with their severity, we thought we had done all that was necessary to get the virus under control. Wishful thinking!
From what we understand so far, in that foggy confusion that has become a staple of governmental information during this pandemic, we are going to have to go through a sort of lockdown-lite with only memories of our previous experiences to keep us happy that the restrictions are not that bad!
The one great difference this time round is the date. We were in lockdown in the spring and now it is autumn. Last night it rained and this morning was dark and damp. Admittedly, it did get somewhat better during the day and we had some sunshine but the immediate forecast is not encouraging and there is something dire about being restricted in drizzle!
As far as I can tell I will be able to continue my bike rides each morning and, as my route takes me along the side of the beach I am able to see the horizon – and that is good for the soul.
And I think over the next few months we are going to have a pressing need to find things that feed our souls and keep us safe.
No comments:
Post a Comment