Riding the Wave, 25. Crowded Cafés.

So, this midday, after leaving lunch made, my daughter and I drove off to the local hospital for her to go to her appointment for her PCR test. At least this morning was a mostly sunny day, with an occasional cold rain shower. The problem was when the sun came out and drove the dazzling light of the wet road into my eyes. I wear prescription glasses, and my corrected sunglasses don't coincide with my vision anymore, so I go blind in the winter sun.

When we arrived, there were plenty of people there, already. There weren't as many as on a normal work day (it's a holiday today), but there were plenty. It seems that over the length of the day, all the workers of the cannery have been called to get a PCR. My daughter only saw one person from the cannery that she knew, but she did see an old high school classmate. It was the nurse who swabbed her nose. I waited in the car, since there was no reason to expose myself to all those strangers.

She was really in and out in less than ten minutes, which was good, because it means she was in an enclosed space with probably an infectious person or two in under the time it normally takes to get infected. Nobody was encouraged to overstay beyond their appointment time, and it was a question of "Next!" being repeatedly heard.  

On our way back, I noticed the same phenomenon as on our way out; the roadside bars' and cafés' parking lots were full, and a lot of people could be seen sitting together on the terraces. Not that they were exactly open air terraces, either, because they all had awnings covering the top and sides, so the clients could more comfortably sit outside in the winter, effectively making them enclosed spaces. The people I could see weren't wearing masks, either, unless having them under their chin counts.

And then, a famous chef, Alberto Chicote (presenter of the Spanish version of Kitchen Nightmares), comes out in an interview saying that the hostelers are being unnecessarily demonized, because they are doing everything right. No, they are not. Yes, they are doing what the government is telling them; marking off tables where people can't sit inside, setting out less tables on terraces, with greater spaces between them, etc. But they are not looking out for what their clients are doing or not. The manager of a café will come out and say he is not a policeman. Fine, but he is the person in charge of admittance to the establishment. He is the one who has to go around and tell people to pull up their masks or leave. He is the one who has to tell people not to sit close together, and not allow groups of more than six on the premises. Big Brother? Yes, but in a pandemic it's life and health before personal choice. 

The cannery is probably creating a lot of the infections in Boiro, but the cafés and bars all over the country are also contributing. Those that have losses should get help from the government, but they also have to police their clients, so that the reason for their losses goes away more quickly. It's not just young people, with binge-drinking parties, or crowded flat parties. We older people are also to blame.

Life continues.