What’s it like in France & Spain at the moment?

[uka888]

We are hearing that cases are increasing quite a bit in France & Spain - just wondering what it’s like if you live there at the moment? Have they put more restrictions in place or are shops / restaurants etc still open?

Where we are in a small coastal town in Murcia region,
shops and restaurants all open but with obvious restrictions, sadly for the owners they are virtually empty and have been so during July and August.
The situation is very fluid and changes to local/regional and national restrictions are constant dependent on infection rates.
For instance we cannot now have any gathering at home of more than six people nor can we travel in a car with non family members if it takes capacity over 50%.
Masks obviously compulsory every where.
Medical centres constantly changing their status on a day to day status.
Frankly I'm dreading going home next week. Have been here since July and have found people totally compliant and accepting of restrictions.
A neighbouring town was COMPLETELY locked down for several weeks recently due to an outbreak, literally no in or out.
It's all very black and white so easy to follow.
It's very sad to see the direction figures for ICU admittance however. Here in Murcia they have doubled in the past week although numbers still low.
Only time will tell but I can tell you the sunshine helps

It's all very black and white so easy to follow.

Do you think this accounts for the high compliance, the rules are clear and people don't think they're being lied to? I've been following New Zealand closely, and compliance there is close to perfect, and there's a real feeling of everyone working together to get through it.

Sorry uk, hadn't realised how off topic I was until I read it back!

Most definitely. It's almost self policing where I am, anyone not complying will be confronted by someone.
There is much more of a feeling of community responsibility and a realisation that we need to get on and get through it.
Having said that I am aware it's not the same in all regions.
Incidentally one of the best most recent restrictions is on smoking and I say this as a smoker!
No smoking if you cannot maintain 2 metre distance therefore no smoking in restaurants and bars nor walking down the street. Pretty alien here

@drivinmecrazy

Interesting that compliance is very high yet cases are rising, and are very high, in Spain at the moment. I wonder what’s driving that? Is it a legacy from a few weeks back when people may have been compliant in public places, but a lot less so in private with social gatherings?

The situation in the U.K. is patchy with compliance. Many areas are very compliant (kust bein a small town centre where compliance seems blanket in shops), but other areas quite a bit less so. You kind of need a critical mass in terms of compliance. I imagine it will stay that way until we have a situation developing like Spain’s with hospitalisations and deaths on the rise as well cases... Then I imagine things will get more serious and areas of non-compliance will
diminish.

I'm wondering about that too Derbygerbil. Spain had such a severe lockdown in comparison to the UK from what friends there told me. The numbers seems to have jumped up again so quickly.

No idea really, would love to know the answer to that.
One thing I will say is that many outbreaks have been linked to under 30's, pretty much the trend in the U.K. at the moment.
Can only guess that transmission to the more vulnerable has been through family groups.
Deaths are being somewhat suppressed (at the moment) because a majority of hospital admissions are below 60, which thankfully are more likely to recover.

This is what makes me sad about attitudes in U.K., so blasé about the risks.
Just look to other countries and learn their lessons or we're heading for the same

I’m in France, right on the border with Switzerland. Everyone is following the guidelines for wearing masks, you can’t get in anywhere without one. Social distancing seems to be drifting especially in places where it’s not clearly marked like supermarket aisles.

People are complying mostly because we don’t want to get locked down again. The numbers of cases have risen here but not hospitalisations so we’re hopeful.

Switzerland in comparison is like night and day at least where I am near Canton Genève and Canton Vaud. Hardly anyone wearing masks and social distancing is practically non existent. It’s like COVID never happened but cases are shooting up too. There is talk of closing the borders and the federation are meeting regularly to review.

Dordogne has had 98 cases, 14 deaths, since March and no cases for last few weeks.
May 11th small businesses opened and early July bars and restaurants.

Everyone wears masks in town centres.
We have had an amazing summer going out with our social group, 10 maximum.
Feels very safe.

I am in an area of high cases it is has been driven by the holiday season for a few reasons. Little social distancing in bars, and lots of people from all over. It is very very busy everywhere. Compliance is high for the rules such as masks but in the bars and around town has been back to normal. Cases stayed very low for ages ( whilst lockdown was hard we seemed to come a long tim ago)then shot up when the tourist season got underway ( so hopefully wont be quite the same in the uk) and then they shot up and i watched the magority of the med coast go into the red.
We now have to wear masks outside in busy areas and towns and in work in some situations. Bars are closed at 12 ( 11?) not sure. Apart from that little change. I speak to my French friends and they very much of th view that life has to go on and we have to live with it. Lockdown on a large scale unlikely again. Appears to be lots of testing available in my area but we had some access to tests when most of france didnt really.
Is going to be interesting to see if the mask measure work to reduce cases, but appeared to in another area that went high.

It's interesting. Big group on Mumsnet said they were mad to open up holidays as it would cause cases to spike. Another group said they really needed holidays, and it was good for the economy and hey presto, cases rise.

The same will happen with schools and universities. It has to spread by the very nature of the thing.

Now the government wants us to go back to the office which will cause more spread.

It's almost like the UK government wants us to get herd immunity over winter. Are France and Spain the same? Are we just going to let numbers balloon this winter and hope for the best?

Not a lot of compliance in spectators watching the Tour de France - zero social distancing (near top of mountain stage) and quite a few with no masks we noted yesterday. So, no, not surprised cases in France are going up if this is the level of compliance amongst a significant proportion.

We've just got back from 2 weeks in southern France, we've been going for 15 years and this summer it was as busy as its ever been. There is zero social distancing, supermarkets were packed, bars and restaurants heaving. The public swimming pools are open, as are waterparks and beach clubs. But the French seem very blasé, they just want to live as they always have and get on with it.

His there talk in any of those places of a second lockdown happening or are they just riding the wave?

@Fiftysixthnamechange

We've just got back from 2 weeks in southern France, we've been going for 15 years and this summer it was as busy as its ever been. There is zero social distancing, supermarkets were packed, bars and restaurants heaving. The public swimming pools are open, as are waterparks and beach clubs. But the French seem very blasé, they just want to live as they always have and get on with it.

I live in SW France and don't recognise your description at all.

We always have a massive influx of summer tourists (French, UK and Dutch) and this year was no different...but...everyone is respecting social distancing rules and wearing masks where they need to. Hand gel is provided and used everywhere. Restaurants have reduced the number of tables - our local restaurant have been turning people away every single day - and you need a mask if you are moving around inside a bar/cafe. I haven't seen a single person without a mask in the supermarket.

The majority of the tourists have left now and several of the bars and restaurants would normally close/reduce hours now anyway. With so many people here relying on tourism for their main income it has been great to see people spending money but now we have to deal with the inevitable fall out from that - it will be interesting to see how things progress. We are watching the rising infection numbers and fervently hoping that we will avoid any local lockdowns.

@mrshoho

I'm wondering about that too Derbygerbil. Spain had such a severe lockdown in comparison to the UK from what friends there told me. The numbers seems to have jumped up again so quickly.

If you've been shut away for months you're going to be a perfect breeding ground for viruses when you get out and about again.

Spain opened everything up again for tourism in July and spikes were inevitable from there. Added to people who'd been shut away for months enjoying a bit of freedom.

I feel from talking to friends that the overwhelming opinion is that we have to live with the virus for now, try not to let it get out of control but not have any major lockown as @ anuff says. Few people talk about it and most dont feel any particular panic or seem overly worried about it.

I am in an area where people wear masks, there is some SD and pubs and restaurants are very much adhering to tables at 2m distance, texting your order in. No going to the bar to get drinks etc.

Went out with friend who lived in a different part of the country.

Didn’t see a single person wearing a mask. We went to a pub for dinner and tables were packed together, you had to go and order your food with everyone else in a non SD queue at the bar.

To my friend the fact you had to fill out a form for track and trace and there was hand sanitizer when you walked in seemed to be enough.

I think whilst people might be adhering to what is normal for their area it isn’t what other people are doing in other areas

(Don’t get me started on those that wear their masks with their nose exposed)

I wonder if the reason we are having these areas with flare ups is because in those areas it is so much more lax than in others.

@ChaChaCha2012

It's all very black and white so easy to follow.

Do you think this accounts for the high compliance, the rules are clear and people don't think they're being lied to? I've been following New Zealand closely, and compliance there is close to perfect, and there's a real feeling of everyone working together to get through it.

This. The UK is such a fucked-up, divided and hateful nation. It will be our undoing.

I think many people round here are very happy that things are returning to the "new" normal after the summer. We are pretty rural and so lockdown wasn't a massive change for us and everyone seems to have accepted that life has changed for the foreseeable future. We didn't experience any shortages or queues for anything (although there is a bizarre shortage of baguettes at the moment!!??).

Some of the people hardest hit are those whose summer income depends on weddings (caterers, bands etc). I don't have personal experience but from talking to friends it seems that the French government have been providing reasonably generous support for those who have been unable to continue with "business as usual".

Fortunately, many of our friends who have holiday lets have fared OK as they managed to pick up last minute French bookings to fill the gaps.

Next summer who knows, but things could have been so much worse and we have to count our blessings.

Interesting how people are so down on the UK when it is doing better overall. Maybe our local whack a mole approach is more helpful overall, and we have had a much more cautious re-opening.

I’m not sure the UK is doing better, just at a different point in the cycle.

Or a different method of counting.
Or maybe not having enough tests.
Or fudging the numbers

The really worrying thing is that this gov paved the way for these very unhelpful ideas to surface as they have proven over and over again how untrustworthy they are and how they skew the narrative to their liking. I would love to live in a country where i could even just half believe the gov and that they have their population's best interest at heart. This is not that country.