The dos and don'ts of post-lockdown
Some countries are only slowly coming out of lockdown, while in others things already appear to have gone back to normal, apart from the fact that everyone is wearing masks. For many people this is creating uncertainty about how to behave. Commentators discuss how to implement the new normality in everyday life.
New normal requires new rules
Hürriyet Daily News is delighted that the coronavirus measures in Turkey, such as a stay home requirement for people over 65 and under 20, have now been relaxed:
“People are fed up. Those over 65 who have been confined to home for the past three months are especially frustrated. Kids and other young people, meanwhile, cannot be confined at home when the summer is so enticing. People have postponed their weddings and all social gatherings. If people can adhere to the rules of the 'new normal' by wearing masks, avoiding physical contact and practising better hygiene, there will probably be no problem. But what happened that over 100 people were infected at a single dinner to express gratitude for the recovery of a family elder? This bitter reality must be taken into account in devising rules for the 'new normal'.”
Study programmes need personal interaction
Rimvydas Petrauskas, rector of the University of Vilnius, explains in Delfi why universities should return to face-to-face teaching as soon as possible:
“Online teaching can complement and expand the possibilities of studying, but it will not be able to replace direct contact between lecturers and students or between the students themselves. After all, the learning process doesn't just take place during the 90 minutes in the auditorium (now online). Knowledge is only born once these hours are extended, commented on, lived, when they become part of the teachings of life, of personal experiences, of mistakes and experiments. A proper study programme takes place in auditoriums, laboratories and places of practical training, with students communicating and learning from each other. All other formats are only transitional, complementary, stop-gap measures.”