Throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. -Mark Twain
There’s a war waging worldwide, and it’s between those people who want to re-open society and those who advocate for more caution to prevent a second wave of the virus. States such as Washington, California and New York as well as German chancellor Angela Merkel are on one side. Most of the Deep South, the Midwest, the individual German states, and US President Donald Trump are on the other.
Continue reading “The Quarantine Diaries, Day 50: Loosening up”
On April 20, Germany relaxed some of its quarantine measures. Small stores, under 800 m² (8,600 ft²) were allowed to re-open, on the condition that customers kept at least 1.5 meters (5 ft) apart.
The same day, Angela Merkel strongly recommended people start wearing masks in public, though she left it up to the individual German states to decided if and how to implement this measure. In Hamburg, they announced a new Maskenpflicht (mask-wearing requirement) on April 20, which goes into effect April 27, giving people a week to purchase a mask and get used to these measures.
A week into social distancing. It seems to be working – the rate of new infections in Hamburg is slowing down. It’s amazing how quickly you adjust to a new routine – this is my new normal, and it feels like more than a week has gone by.
Continue reading “The Quarantine Diaries, Day 8: Making and breaking a routine”
Following the Wanderlust 