Some Modi Operandi Post-Pandemic

601
- Advertisement - [resads_adspot id="2"]

The desired new normal lifestyle.

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected billions of lives and businesses. Hence, many things will never be the same again. Already, we are forced to practise some of the changes that will become the new normal such as physical distancing.

KK Sham/The Star

In 2017, I contributed an article in “Reimagining Transportation in 2050” published by the Land Public Transport Commission. I contended that with the advancements in science and technology, changes over the next 33 years will probably be more than what I have witnessed for the first 66 years of my life.

I wondered what transportation would be by then. Although population would increase, the percentage of people commuting to offices would be reduced as desk jobs could be done anywhere, anytime, and performance easily monitored and measured.

I added that automation would make many office and manual work redundant. Internet of Things would serve as a great convenience for those who have embraced it. Education would be centred on learning to thrive in the digital world, while travelling will be more for holidays, rather than for work.

Recently, I wrote “Cruises Offer Best Tourism Prospect”. This time, I am predicting “sanitised safe sanctuaries” would become popular. This concept is similar to how cruises ought to be operated in future to ensure passenger ships are the safest places for tourists.

Instead of limiting to gated communities meant for residents, major investors could build gated private townships for guests spread over a thousand hectares or more to include apartments, restaurants, shops and other amenities. Motor vehicles will not be allowed to enter, and unnecessary, as a variety of electric vehicles provide free and safe transport within the township.

All goods and food supplies are to be dropped off at designated gates where they are disinfected before bringing in, and daily cleaning exercise includes sanitisation. Anyone who wishes to enter this gated township will have to be quarantined overnight in a hotel built at the perimeter.

Only those who have been tested and cleared of communicable diseases, including Covid-19, may enter. But unlike prisons where inmates are forcibly brought in and locked up until release, guests inside this sanctuary may leave anytime but will be subjected to strict re-entry protocol.

The gated township will include a huge forested park, waterfall, streams, fishponds, flower gardens, and specially laid tracks for walking, jogging and cycling. There will be fields and courts for ball games and concrete floors for roller skating or skateboarding.

Such a sanctuary is a paradise for retirees and young children to stay in and for tourists to enjoy the safest holiday on land as an alternative to safe cruises.

As for hotels and private accommodations in cities, towns and resorts, operators would be adopting a minimalist design by having only the essentials in place so that they can easily be disinfected or sanitised on a regular basis.

For large rooms such as the lobby and restaurant, they could be stripped bare leaving a perfectly plain and flat floor, ceiling and four walls. There should be no protrusions, depressions or carpets to trap dirt, dust, bacteria, or virus.

Instead of wardrobe, clothes rack will suffice. Bathrooms should not be cluttered with the usual assortment of toiletries. Providing only the essentials will ensure they are properly sanitised.

Justin Chin/Bloomberg

As for kopitiams and cafes, dining tables can be replaced by long counters and partitioned for individual seating. When seated on a stool or chair, the diner will be facing a wall or mirror with partitions on both sides.

A typical layout could be two long counters facing the wall laid on both sides of the establishment. In the middle, two long counters will face each other but separated by a central partition. Locating the dining area to the back will allow the kitchen and cashier to be in front and facilitate takeaways.

The cashier can be cocooned in an air-conditioned transparent cubicle with a small gap to receive payment and return change, with the cash disinfected or sanitised using a handy and affordable gadget. Popularity of cashless payment will naturally go up.

The views expressed here are strictly those of The True Net reader YS Chan from Petaling Jaya.