A REGION in Italy wants tourists to use “plexiglass boxes” while relaxing on the beach to reduce the spread of coronavirus.
As countries add strict measures to contain the deadly virus, plans have been drawn up as a suggestion for busy beaches.
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The new designs were created by Nuova Neon Group Due, a company in Modena in Italy.
While their main focus has been creating plexiglass screens for pharmacies and bank tellers across the country, their “phase two” included using them on the beach.
The two metre high walls would be 4.5m wide, with people on the beach made to sit inside them when visiting.
Images show rows of the boxes, being dubbed “chicken coops” by local media.
However, lifeguards and club owners in the area have slammed the proposal, claiming it was “unrealistic”.
Mauro Vanni, president of the Rimini lifeguards cooperative, said people would “die of dehydration” if made to use them in the hot weather.
However, ideas similar to this may become the new norm with some experts suggesting social distancing may be needed until 2022.
Researchers have added that without new treatments, a resurgence in Covid-19 could occur as far in the future as 2025.
The authors explained in a Science journal: “Our goal in modelling such policies is not to endorse them but to identify likely trajectories of the epidemic under alternative approaches.”
In Spain, tourists may be forced to remain 6ft away from each other on beaches even after the pandemic.
Changes have been made around the world already, such as floor marking to stay the correct distance from people and people wearing masks for day-to-day activities.
One woman opted for a zorb ball when shopping to avoid coming into contact with other people, while another person carried a long stick while walking to ensure the 2m distance at all times.
Airlines are likely to continue to be affected, and forced to fly with half-empty planes to ensure social distancing – which could double your airfares.
Social distancing works to reduce the spread of coronavirus by lowering the risk of spreading droplets between people.
The more people come into contact with droplets from an infected person’s coughs and sneezes, the more likely they are to catch coronavirus.
Scientists believe that under normal circumstances, the average person will infect 2.5 other people every five days, leading to 400 people infected in a month.
However, the infection rate can be reduced if contacted with other people is avoided – if the infection ratio was halved to 1:1.25 every five days then this would lead to just 15 infections each month.
