Newsletter

Hello and welcome to this month’s newsletter.

I hope you are keeping well. Today the Valencia region is moving onto phase 2 of the de-escalation plan which includes opening more bars, restaurants and larger shops, and reopening the beaches with restrictions. These are the proposed beach restrictions as reported by El Pais newspaper.

“ Under this phase, the BOE sets out new conditions for the use of beaches. Towels, sun loungers and personal objects will have to be laid out in a way “that guarantees a security perimeter of two meters with regard to other users, apart from bathers who are cohabitating.” Shared sun loungers will have to be cleaned and disinfected between uses. Open-air showers and foot-washes will be permitted for use, as will bathrooms, changing rooms and other similar public services. Only one person at a time will be able to use such facilities, unless that person requires assistance. Also under Phase 2, local councils will be able to establish access limits and control the number of people on beaches in order to guarantee a two-meter distance can be observed, as well as establishing time limits both on the sand and in car parks. The order specifies that access to beaches must always be free of charge. To calculate the maximum capacity of a beach, each bather is considered to occupy approximately four square meters.”

I can clearly see this isn’t in any way vague or ambiguous and there is no doubt in my mind that it will work perfectly, particularly in Benidorm.

The prime minister Pedro Sanchez has said that Spain will welcome international visitors from 1st July without the need to quarantine for 14 days. I am suspicious that this is more to do with the desperate need to get the tourism industry working (saving over 1 million jobs and generating revenue) than for any covid health and safety related reasons.

The Hogueras has been cancelled this year, for obvious reasons, but it will be interesting to see what happens to the night of San Juan on 24th June. Will they close the beaches and ban the bonfires because I am certain there will be basically zero social distancing going on if they allow it. I wait with baited breath!

You may have seen people wandering around with their face masks on and be thinking what sensible and responsible people the Spanish are. Well, most people have one of these cheap disposable paper masks, which they keep in their pocket or handbag, and whip it out when they are obliged to wear it. They reuse the same mask for weeks on end, so think on.

Moving on, Microsoft have just released the latest version of Windows 10, the May update 20H1, and your computer will alert you when it is ready to download it over the coming months. For more information on what’s new, check out this article. There doesn’t appear to be anything earth-shattering or indeed interesting going on with this release, but remember that each version of Windows 10 has a two year shelf life and you do need to update eventually to remain on a supported release. I have already upgraded 5 machines and everything went well. My advise (as always) is to wait until you get the notification message that the update is available for your computer, then you shouldn’t encounter any problems. Using the Microsoft Update Assistant to get the update right away is basically only for the brave.

Keep healthy and well, and have a great month.

Monday 1st June 2020

Neal Walker Computer Services     

663713811