REPORTAGE
Whilein Paris, the parks remain closed, in many metropolises around the globe, the authorities have decided to open them, as in the United States, the country most affected by the coronavirus pandemic with at least 97,430 deaths for 1,633,076 cases. But to avoid any resumption of the spread of the virus, the health authorities decided … to draw big circles on lawns, like in New York. Explanations from our correspondent on site.
“We live in weird times, so we do weird stuff”
“Please stay in a circle.” In recent days, a brand new sign has been visible for those who want to go to Domino Park, on the edge of the East River, in Brooklyn, famous New York neighborhood. Because to combine the exits after confinement with physical distancing, there are now marked out locations on the lawn: white circles drawn on the grass, two meters apart from each other.
Do you think these circles are effective? Or unnecessary?
( by me today @ Domino park) pic.twitter.com/gvPtOokXcS
— Jeremy Cohen (@jerm_cohen) May 20, 2020
Everyone is like in an invisible bubble. “We live in weird times, so we do weird stuff,” comments Yoni, a young New Yorker doing his gymnastics, standing in the middle of his circle.
“It’s a creative solution for safe ventilation”
In the next round, Katherine has put down her stroller and tries to keep her 16-month-old daughter inside the circle. She is satisfied that the parks are accessible again. “It’s effective because everyone can see if there is a place or not,” she explains to the microphone of Europe 1. “I’m happy to find one. Normally, it’s difficult because the park is very busy, because of the magnificent view overlooking the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building “.
Soon for all the parks in New York?
In New York, the summer is a test: “It will be very hot and humid”, warn four friends who have found themselves in their circle, who also find this measure interesting. “It’s a creative solution for safe ventilation,” they say.
And these circles could become a new normal in the city that never sleeps. The mayor of New York plans to generalize the measure to all parks. In the meantime, so that his constituents can leave their homes and take the air while keeping their distance, he has already pedestrianized more than 70 kilometers of streets.
–
