A COVID Christmas
Whatever form Christmas takes, it will remain vitally important that we all adhere to stringent new cleaning and hand hygiene regimes, says Essity's Stuart Hands.
Christmas is coming, whether we're ready for it or not, but with the lockdown rules changing all the time it is impossible to be certain how this Christmas will look.
The constantly fluctuating COVID-19 figures all over the world make it hard for governments to call whether or not anyone will be able to travel to other countries to be reunited with loved ones. In fact, we may not even be allowed to meet up with members of other households at all.
So, with the entire situation up in the air it is hard for anyone to plan – and this makes life particularly difficult for retail centres, transport providers and hospitality venues whose managers have no idea whether they should be preparing for a quiet period or a festive rush.
It was clear early in the autumn that this year’s shopping experience would be vastly different to usual. Even before non-essential stores were forced to close in England on 5 November, the Christmas markets – usually a highlight of our winter calendar – were all cancelled with some opting to go online instead. These virtual markets enable craft-sellers to offer their handmade gifts to customers via online ‘stalls’.
Santa himself also began using new technology with companies such as Santa’s Grotto Live and Virtual Santa’s Grotto facilitating Zoom calls to the North Pole. Parents were encouraged to order a gift from the site beforehand so that they could present this to their child while the call took place.
Christmas is a time when our restaurants are usually packed to capacity, with many of them laying on a festive menu. Hospitality venues up and down the country continued to promote their Christmas menu throughout the November lockdown even before they had any idea whether or not they would be allowed to reopen in December.
Some restaurants have been taking a more pragmatic view. For example, the Elephant in Torquay is offering a seven- course festive takeaway for £60 per person that may be picked up on 23 or 24 December. The meal comes with full cooking instructions, individual menus, photos of the finished dishes and the option of wine pairing.
The Bistro at the Boathouse in Henley-on-Thames also demonstrated an entrepreneurial flair by offering a German Christmas market takeaway menu throughout November. This featured dishes such as currywurst, sauerkraut and waffles. Supermarket chain Morrisons is even offering a ‘hot food to go’ takeaway service from all of its 404 cafes, which includes a ready-made Christmas turkey dinner with all the trimmings.
Many people travel overseas at Christmas either to meet up with loved ones or simply to enjoy a festive break. Heathrow is Europe’s busiest airport and last December it clocked up 6.7 million passengers – an increase of 3.1% over the previous year and a new record. However, the
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second English lockdown imposed in November meant that no-one was allowed to fly unless they needed to do so for work or for another urgent purpose. So, for the second time in a year, our airports were practically deserted.
There are now hopes that flights will resume before Christmas with rumours that breakthroughs such as rapid testing, new travel corridors and a shortening of the quarantine period could make flying more viable.
However, ‘hope’ is the operative word as the retail industry, airport chiefs, hoteliers, publicans and members of the Great British public all collectively cross their fingers that some semblance of normality will return in time for Christmas. Even if shops and hospitality venues are indeed able to open, it will still be vitally important that no one relaxes their guard. Social distancing, enhanced cleaning protocols and optimum hand hygiene will continue to be vital safeguards until a vaccine has been developed and rolled out.
When facilities reopen, people will be more cautious than ever when using them, so it will be reassuring to see cleaning teams in evidence everywhere, with operatives wiping down tables and sanitising frequent touchpoints such as hand rails, lift buttons and shopping trolleys.
Hand sanitiser dispensers should be universally available and their use should be actively encouraged by anyone entering or leaving a facility. Washrooms should remain open at all times so that hand washing may be practised, and queues should be safely managed so that everyone has the time and opportunity to wash their hands for the required 20 seconds.
Every effort should be made to keep washroom traffic flowing freely to prevent logjams. Traffic light systems that show when cubicles are occupied can help to improve the efficiency of visits. Clear labelling, the use of one-way systems and perhaps the removal of mirrors can all help to prevent people from lingering inside the facility. It’s equally important that plentiful supplies of soap and paper are
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