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- A hairdresser’s in Houston, Texas, installed screens to separate customers.
- At the Gare du Nord in Paris, markers on the platforms keep commuters two metres apart while waiting for trains.
- In Brussels, a Mercedes car dealership uses wheels to help social distancing.
Lockdown is loosening a little in some parts of the world. For many, it means a chance to get out and do things once considered mundane. And for struggling businesses, it’s a welcome respite. But measures to throttle the spread of the coronavirus have transformed many everyday activities. Here is a snapshot of how people and companies around the world are adjusting.
On the move
Grabbing a sandwich or a coffee, maybe on the way into work or during your lunch break, has often meant waiting in line. These customers in the Netherlands are using over-sized yellow circles that extend out into the parking lot to wait their turn.
It could be that circles are the new way of helping people stand a safe distance apart. Here at the Gare du Nord railway station in Paris, they are in use on the platforms.
Eating out
Many restaurants and bars may struggle to remain commercially viable if they have to make substantial cuts to the number of customers they can serve at a time. This café in Thailand has adopted a pulley system to pass customers their food and drinks.
And in Hong Kong, customers at this café have a lot more space between them than they used to.
What is the World Economic Forum doing about the coronavirus outbreak?
Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic requires global cooperation among governments, international organizations and the business community, which is at the centre of the World Economic Forum’s mission as the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation.
Since its launch on 11 March, the Forum’s COVID Action Platform has brought together 1,667 stakeholders from 1,106 businesses and organizations to mitigate the risk and impact of the unprecedented global health emergency that is COVID-19.
The platform is created with the support of the World Health Organization and is open to all businesses and industry groups, as well as other stakeholders, aiming to integrate and inform joint action.
As an organization, the Forum has a track record of supporting efforts to contain epidemics. In 2017, at our Annual Meeting, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) was launched – bringing together experts from government, business, health, academia and civil society to accelerate the development of vaccines. CEPI is currently supporting the race to develop a vaccine against this strand of the coronavirus.
Being served
In some countries, you still can’t get your hair cut. But you can if you live in Texas. This salon in Houston has a partition between clients, and the staff wear masks and gloves.
In Jakarta, these people wait in line to use an automated rice-dispensing machine.
This bank in Tokyo has deployed lots of screening, while both staff and customers are wearing face masks.
In Brussels, this Mercedes car dealership has put piles of wheels to good use, helping maintain social distancing while staying on brand.
This Italian factory, which produces metal bearings, has added social distancing markings to the floor.
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And at this car factory in France, plastic barriers have been installed to maintain social distancing.
