Beer gardens, theaters and cinemas will remain closed, the city of Munich has decided. The development of the pandemic does not allow any opening.
Is this decision right?
Military and soccer strategists know: A defense is only as strong as its weakest link. Take, for example, a dam designed to protect people from flooding. If this dam is 10 m high for 90% of its length and only 2 m high on a small section, what do you think happens when a 3 m high flood wave comes? Correct, the water seeks out exactly the spot where the dam is only 2 m high and then floods the area behind it without restraint.
In my opinion, it is the same with Corona.
We’ve been closing almost all the stores and restaurants there for a long time now to make sure that no one gets infected. At the same time, however, people on public transport, for example in the Munich subway, sit or stand quite close together, at least at certain times of the day. I experienced this again today on my way to court.
In contrast, yesterday evening in Karstadt, which you can now enter again with registration: I was actually alone in the men’s department. Far and wide no other customer and also no sales staff.
Is such (exaggerated?) caution appropriate or even necessary in stores? Does it really make sense to keep the outdoor areas of restaurants closed as before? In my opinion, the latter in particular leads to people going to the kiosk to get something and then gathering in groups. Wouldn’t it be better to allow restaurants to set up chairs and tables in the outdoor area again, and then make sure that they are not too crowded?
What’s my point? Corona protections should be consistent and cohesive. Full subways and empty stores are not, in my view. Subways or public transportation in general are tight, enclosed spaces. If corona is, as it seems or has been proven, a dangerous, highly contagious disease, then one must ensure that public transportation is not overcrowded. In this case, care must be taken that no more than a certain number of people are together in one carriage and that they keep the minimum distance.
Conversely, I think that people can also go to stores, concerts or restaurants to the same extent, especially when it comes to (outdoor) events.
Finally, a word about travel: It should also apply to hotels and airplanes that there are not too many people together in too small a space. So flying and spending the night in hotels yes, but in compliance with the distance rules. With all the state aid that we give the airlines directly or indirectly, they can leave the seat in the middle or one or two rows of seats empty, can’t they? …
Wolfgang Gottwald
