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DetlefK

(16,423 posts)
Fri Sep 18, 2020, 09:45 AM Sep 2020

Corona and everyday-life in Germany:

Basically no one wears a mask out on the street, ~5% of people wear it outdoors, but pedestrians typically try to keep at least 2 feet distance to each other at all times.


Basically everyone puts on a mask when entering a building, >99.9% of people wear a mask indoors AND typically try to keep about 3 feet distance to each other. (Even though the recommendations say 5 feet, but you know how humans are.)


Indoors masks are only only taken off when you are eating/drinking or when you're exclusively around people you spend maskless time with anyways (family, friends, colleagues).


At work, we don't wear masks (waiters, cashiers and the likes being the obvious exemption) but keep about 2-3 feet distance to each other at all times. Showing up to work even slightly sick in any way is a HUGE No-No.


Some companies have switched to a concept called "Kurzarbeit" ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short-time_working ), which was invented after the 2009 recession. Basically, your work-hours get cut to 75% and your pay gets cut to 75%. That way the company can go into sort-of hibernation during tough economic times and cut costs without having to lay off people.


Groceries and the likes are paid preferably via card.


Restaurants have blocked every second table to increase space between customers and/or moved their tables out onto the street Café-style and/or have switched to take-away.


Every restaurant/bar has their own version of a pen&paper form you have to fill out with your contact-info for the purpose of contact-tracing if a customer should later turn out to be infected.


The waiters and cleaning-ladies work over-time to regularly disinfect everything.


A tiny minority of people have a small bottle of disinfectant with them at all times, but dispensers to disinfect your hands can be found at EVERY toilet and sometimes in the work-area at your workplace.


Use of public touchscreens is discouraged, which is why museums hand out tiny soft rubber-stubs to their visitors to use those for poking touchscreens.


For a few months, inner city public transport used to be free of charge entirely (to minimize contact between staff and passengers). But nowadays they are either back to paper-tickets or have switched to electronic tickets via smartphone and QR-code.





If you ignore the masks and the social distancing, and if you don't mind going without events like cinema, bars, theater, public parties and the sort, life is almost normal.

Sure, there are protests, but they are very rare and consist of the usual suspects: Extreme left-wingers who get pissed anyways at anything the government does and extreme right-wingers who try to use anti-government sentiment to sell themselves as protectors of the common folk.

And there certainly are no snake-oil salesmen hawking dubious cures and unsafe vaccines. Life is basically on hold.

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Corona and everyday-life in Germany: (Original Post) DetlefK Sep 2020 OP
Interesting. Thanks. n/t Laelth Sep 2020 #1
That sounds reasonable even though I personally would still wear a mask in outdoor setting Claustrum Sep 2020 #2

Claustrum

(4,845 posts)
2. That sounds reasonable even though I personally would still wear a mask in outdoor setting
Fri Sep 18, 2020, 09:52 AM
Sep 2020

if I am in a crowded city.

A lot of time, I think our (democrats) position in the US is going too far because of how far Trump is at the opposite end. But at the same time, it makes sense to be extra cautious because you can't trust the person next to you when you are outside of your own home. If everyone is behaving reasonable and following guidelines, I would be more trusting about the people around me and be a bit less cautious when I am out and about.

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