German Chancellor Angela Merkel has confirmed that the nation is past the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic while asking people to still be prudent to avoid a second wave of infections.
The European nation has eased its lockdown restrictions in the past few days, allowing restaurants and cafes to open. However, they have to follow social distancing guidelines and rules, ensuring that patrons are sitting at a fair distance from each other.
Cafe & Konditorei Rothe in Schwerin in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania had a very unique way of celebrating their reopening – it handed out pool-noodle hats to its patrons to ensure that they adhere to social distancing mandates.
The owner of the cafe, Jaqueline Rothe posted a photo to the cafe’s Facebook page, showing customers sitting outside, enjoying their meals and the sunny weather, wearing straw hats with two colorful swimming noodles attached to the top.
And soon enough, the picture went viral on social media, with people praising this funny yet effective manner of maintaining social distancing.
“This was the perfect method to keep customers apart — and a fun one,” Rothe said.
“It was a perfect gag and of course it was funny, our customers were really into it. But what it did show to us (was) how difficult it is to keep a distance of 1.5 meters (4.9 feet),” she added.
She also explained that the idea was the brainchild of the local TV company RTL, which was filming the reopening of cafes and restaurants in the area.
Rothe also hopes to highlight the adversities that the restaurant and hospitality industry is going through due to the coronavirus pandemic. On an ordinary day, she said that the cafe would have 36 tables inside and another 20 outside. However, with the current restrictions, she can have only 12 tables inside and 8 on the outside.
This certainly is a difficult time for most of the sectors, with the entire world facing a recession. However, we hope and pray that the world defeats the virus soon and normalcy is restored in all parts of the world.
