I am so glad this thread exists! Covid is such a tricky topic: so many people disagree with doing x or y, and countries have acted at different rates and in different ways. I pointedly avoided talking about it with other pilgrims during our section of the CF this summer, partly out of embarrassment, which I’ll explain below. We were staying in private rooms throughout, for my own health reasons as well as because of Covid. But Covid was a regular topic between myself and my partner.
The ventilation issue bothers me for personal reasons. I’ll explain this in case it helps anyone else, or maybe casts light on how people such as myself are still affected. I both know that my situation is far from typical at this stage, and know that it isn’t unique. Although I’m double vaccinated and only at moderate risk myself, I live with someone who, even after three vaccines (two plus a booster last week) is still very much at risk, being currently unable to breathe well because of a lifelong condition (we’ve had a recent hospital trip: low oxygen). I’ve been doing everything I can to protect this person since March 2020. It’s difficult in the U.K. now because so many people think everything is ‘normal’. Maybe it needs to be, for most people. In my household, we are trying to judge what we do cautiously, waiting for case numbers to drop very low, when we may dare to venture into restaurants again. We shop online or at local farms, and wear FFP3 (N99) masks in any necessary public indoor spaces, (although in Spain we sometimes used N95 types instead because everyone else wore masks too). Maybe our approach is extreme, but for us it is sensible. I felt and still feel really uncomfortable about it: it’s a strangely taboo subject.
But I felt free when walking in Spain! And far safer than here in the U.K. What a relief it was, to be outdoors for so long! To be able to eat outside fairly easily everywhere we went. We didn’t eat indoors at any point, because of lack of ventilation, as well as because… well, when in Spain, it’s nice to eat outdoors if you’re from the U.K. where it’s usually too cold! (albergue’s where the only difficult places for meals; we were sad to miss some of this aspect of the Camino).
We aired our rooms as best we could before spending time in them. I was surprised that so many rooms had the windows or balcony doors shut, no ventilation, but hoped that perhaps this had been taken care of before we arrived. I based this partly on my twice-weekly conversations with people in Spain; they’ve often talked of how they’re aware of precautions such as ventilation. Another factor was that it’s been common in the U.K., until recently, that guest houses and hotels have early check-outs and late check-ins, to allow time for ventilation as well as for cleaning. Obviously this isn’t the case in Spain now, perhaps as others have said, because of mosquitos, heat, etc. We did enter one or two rather musty private rooms on the Camino, but they aired out fairly well.
I ask myself whether I’d behave differently if my partner and I lived alone. We would probably take more calculated risks; I certainly felt easier toward the start of our time in Spain than I did when I knew I was nearing our return home. We’d probably at least eat in some restaurants. I’d still ventilate the rooms, I think, because it just feels fresher given the situation. I’d presume other people would also see this as a courtesy, but equally, I know that across cultures, presumptions are dangerous things to have!
I find it odd, and concerning, that ventilation hasn’t been given a more central focus, at least in the U.K., I don’t know about the US or elsewhere. But Belgium issued a
carbon dioxide mandate back in July 2021. I researched this stuff obsessively at various points during the first year of Covid (some of the links people have posted above, etc, I won’t bore you!). But good masks, and ventilation. It should be so simple.
It’s a miserable topic, isn’t it? I’m sorry if the tone of the above isn’t ideal, and I don’t mean to upset people who’ve made different decisions. I’ve previously felt unable to talk about this aspect of my Camino. And the topic of ventilation… it should always have been at the forefront of what we think of in the fight against Covid. If it hasn’t been central, that’s probably a failure of messaging and of policy from government authorities. Anyway… let’s hope it’s a redundant topic soon!
I would have been on my own anyway 
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