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  • Day 5

    Covid and technology

    February 12, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    When we arrived it was a legal requirement in Spain to wear a face mask not only indoors public places but outdoors as well - and virtually 100% complied. People on the streets all wore masks all the time, only taking them off once sat down in a bar or restaurant. On Thursday this was relaxed to only being required in indoor spaces but over half are continuing to wear them in the street.
    Yesterday was the first time we were required to show our covid pass to enter a restaurant, previously we have sat indoors and no-one checked. We carry them everywhere and it was a relief to find that the Spanish phone app that scans our UK issued QR code recognised it and gave us a big green tick. In Greece in September it didn't work and we were turned away.
    A much less welcome use of technology is that many restaurants have dispensed with printed menus and expect you to scan a QR code on the table to view the menu on your phone. We had never done this before so at first pretended we didn't have our phones with us so the waiter lent us his phone to see the menu. We have since worked out how to do it but really hate it. It is difficult to read on small phone screens and difficult to discuss what to have and share when looking at separate screens across a table. I fear when covid is no longer an excuse, they will continue this malign technology to save printing costs.
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