Signs of COVID

For almost a year various health agencies around the world have struggled to communicate to the public at large, what needs to be done to help reduce the spread of this virus.

Of course, this task has been made harder by individuals and groups who for reasons incomprehensible to me, seem to ignore, minimize, or even fight against them. Not wearing masks, doing only the bare minimum legally required, or even shredding conspiracy theories, or false information about the fairly obvious ways masks reduce the spread of an airborne virus.

But what I’ve found interestng is the the localization of the standard “2m/6ft” and other asscocated guidances to local contexts.

When we were back in Alberta, this is the official notice from the ministry of health that was posted everywhere. They decided to use a shorthand for 2m that clearly demonstrates at the same time a little bit of humor, and a lot of self-awareness.

This probably didn’t seem too strange to many, but having not lived in Alberta a lot in the past while these things stuck out to us. When we took a few days hiking in the Rockies, we saw some more very local examples of 2m in the vernacular. Ski poles and mountain bikes…

When the airport here opened after almost 7 months of closure there were new signs indicating how to keep physically distant. Feet here are often bare – so it seems reasonable that the indicators at the international airport use this as the outline.

{just last week the government here started passing rules regarding the wearing of masks. All of a sudden starting are people wearing masks. Maybe we’ll refer to it here as COVID-21}

When we flew through Ethiopia, this was the sign that was placed throughout the terminal. Interestingly they feel the need to prohibit “spitting everywhere” inside the international airport – due to the presence of COVID.

and…this one I have not seen in the wild, but it was sent to me. A classic French approach, using something as common to French Alpine residents as a mountain bike is to Canadian mountain people…