Traveller’s Tales
Guest post by Jo Dolan
Phase 2
Andrà Tutto Bene
(everything will be alright)
May 7th
Phase 2
●Protective face masks will be mandatory for commuters on public TRANSPORT, with restricted numbers on buses and trains especially during rush hour.
●The people being allowed to visit their relatives in small numbers.
●Parks, factories and building sites will reopen, but schools will not restart classes until September.
●People will be allowed to move around their own regions – but not between different regions
●Funerals are set to resume, but with a maximum of 15 people attending, and ideally to be carried out outdoors.
●Individual athletes can resume training, and people can do sports not only in the vicinity of their homes but in wider areas.
●Bars and restaurants will reopen for takeaway service from 4 May -not just delivery as now – but food must be consumed at home or in an office.
●Hairdressers, beauty salons, bars and restaurants are expected to reopen for dine-in service from 1 June.
As of Monday 4th May, Italy has gone into Phase 2 of Lockdown, which means that we are now allowed to see close family. On Monday evening we immediately went over to see my husband’s family in Teolo, a village in the Colli Euganean. It was so lovely seeing them. I am very used to talking to my family in the U.K by video calls. But we had never done this with our Italian family before, as we see them regularly. However since the Lockdown, this has been our main way to communicate.
Although Phase 2 only started on May 4th, there have been some other changes over the last few weeks. As of the 18th April, we have been able to walk or bike for further than 200 metres from our houses. More people have gone back into their offices, although it seems like they are alternating, so as not to have too many people in at the same time. Some children’s clothes shops have re-opened, as obviously our children have been growing lots over the past two months!
On May the 1st we took our children out for a bike ride for the first time since the more severe lockdown from March 9th. We all wore masks, but it was nice to get out. We are still using our communal garden lots, which has been an absolute savior for us. The weather has mostly been very good since lockdown, so we eat most meals on our balcony and spend lots of time outside. I know this is not the case for many people, which must be tough. We have really felt it on the days that we haven’t been able to get out due to bad weather. Tensions and frustrations definitely elevate on these days.
At such a strange time for so many people, lots of lovely things have come out of this situation too. We have connected with so many friends and family through phone calls, messages and Zoom calls. An old friend of mine, Amanny, has a radio show on BBC Surrey. She has been giving us shout outs which has really raised our spirits. She has also been doing live hula hoop sessions, which my kids have been joining in with, which has been really good fun. We are doing a Zoom hula hooping birthday party for her on Saturday, which we are really looking forward to.
We have also been doing the Joe Wickes P.E lessons in the mornings, which have been a great start to the day and given us a bit of a kickstart before our homeschooling. Lia, my daughter has been helping some children in Oxford with their Italian using Zoom, which has been great fun and such a nice way to make new friends and interact.
Apparently from the 18th May there will be a few more places opening such as IKEA and various other shops, along with museums and libraries. Sports teams will also be able to hold group training from 18 May, but I believe that would have to be outside. I received a message from a sports club, saying that tennis and Padel can start again, as long as it is just two players.
From June 1st Hairdresser’s , beauty salons, bars and restaurants are expected to reopen for dine-in service, but I can’t imagine how that will work or what to expect. I understand that beaches should be opening again in June, but I don’t know the exact details of how this will work.
In the meantime we just have to be patient and wait to see how things progress.
Which restrictions are being lifted, where you are ?
© Text by Jo Dolan
© Image Maggie M/Mother City Time
Jo, thank you again for sharing your experience here. You have dealt with so much and handled it all in good spirits and with positivity. Your kids have clearly been inspired by that too. It’s great that you have found new things to do together as a family, to manage the time at home. I was saying to a friend recently, I hope that children will look back at this time as a unique time that they got to share with their parents. Keep enjoying the Joe Wickes P.E lessons. We have to keep moving! And it does make you feel better. It’s fantastic that you can now meet with family. I saw the photo of your kids with Nonna, how wonderful! Stay well, stay happy and thank you for sharing even more details on the new phase. I am posting it below. The Italian authorities have been so clear with all their communication. Ciao Bella.
Source
https://www.lastampa.it/…/da-lunedi-addio-all-autocertifica… 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈
New phase from next Monday 18th:
ROME. From May 18 no more written justification, true or invented to justify leaving the house. Conte has decided, that from May 18 will raise the shutters of shops, bars, restaurants and hairdressers, will retire the self-certification, which will remain in the memory of the Italians as one of the symbols of phase 1 of the epidemic.
In the meantime, from Monday you can go back to find friends, maybe at dinner, without having to make excuses. The go-ahead for stays in second homes is also likely if they are in their own region. Inter-regional mobility will be discussed only on June 1, but only among those with an epidemic under control based on the monitoring of the Ministry of Health. What tomorrow will say if the early reopenings of the 18th will exclude the two worse regions, which always remain Piedmont and Lombardy. In the meantime, the guidelines of Inail and the Higher Institute of Health have arrived, which dictate the rules for restarting restaurants, bars and hairdressers, as well as for lying on the beach, starting from June 1st.
Bars, restaurants and hairdressers
At the tables, whether for breakfast, dinner, lunch or an aperitif, that is, both in bars and restaurants, the law of 2 meters applies, which is the distance that must elapse between the chairs of those who do not live under the same roof. Each customer must have 4 square meters available or, more simply, he will have to resign himself to the plexiglass partition. The buffets and if possible also the payment in cash, while the menu will have to be consulted from an app or from the blackboard on the wall. And then in the kitchen never without gloves and masks, which customers will also have to use when they get up from the table. Finally, the restaurant is booked and respecting shifts.
Coronavirus, this is how we will eat in the restaurant
The rule of 2 meters also applies to the hairdresser, where it will not be enough to book, but it will also be necessary to specify the treatment: styling, cutting or color, in order to allow scheduling of appointments. Obligatory mask for everyone and in addition gloves for those who cut. Obviously scissors, combs and other tools must be sterilized after each treatment. In all these exercises, then pay attention to air conditioning. The ISS document, to which the guidelines refer, specifies that with traditional split or those embedded in the wall but without air exchange (the fancoil model), it will always be necessary to leave the door and windows open to facilitate the replacement of the air, while with the “Uta” systems, which allow replacement, it will be sufficient to change some air occasionally.
The rules on the beach
On the beach the rows of umbrellas must be spaced at least 5 meters apart. Four and a half meters must separate an umbrella from the other. Loungers and deckchairs, when not under an umbrella, must be at least two meters from those of the neighbor. A rule which derogates from whether the members of the same family or cohabitants sunbathe. To facilitate quota access to the factories, it is preferable to provide for mandatory reservations, even for time slots. No small commitment for lifeguards and managers, given that the guidelines provide for the sanitization of deckchairs, sunbeds and umbrellas at each change of bather.
Covid: remote umbrellas, tight controls and apps. So we will go to the beach by reservation only
However, vacationers who will occupy them for several days will be privileged when assigning umbrellas and equipment. No promiscuous use of the cabins, outdoor showers and dividers if the safety distance of at least two meters cannot be maintained. And needless to say, beach games, such as ball games or beach volleyball off limits. The swimming pools are also closed.
Even for free beaches you will have to book, while the safety distance can be marked with fences planted in the shoreline. To manage it all, the experts suggest, should be voluntary or third sector associations. Although some regions are considering entrusting the task to the plant managers themselves.