Danielle Barron: Did the elbow bumps make a difference?

As we take the first steps back towards normality, it’s worth considering how many of our virus protection measures are essential and how many are superfluous or just plain silly

A busy Grafton Street in Dublin: the government permitted non-essential retail to reopen last Monday. Picture: Getty

The great reopening is finally under way, and we are beginning to throw off some of the shackles that Covid-19 imposed upon us.

At the various peaks of the crisis, we happily adopted practices that were previously alien concepts: wearing face coverings, standing two metres apart, abstaining from physical contact with others. Hugs were out and elbow bumps were in.

Many other rules and regulations have become part of the Covid-19 playbook. Different sectors and ...