It’s been a summer unlike any other in memory. People around the world have spent months attempting to return to familiar routines amid the Covid-19 pandemic, as cases rise and fall in different places. For businesses allowed to open, that has meant coming up with creative ways to try to keep customers safe, from grocery stores employing cleaning robots to restaurants seating teddy bears at some tables to keep diners apart. At Inspire South Bay Fitness in Redondo Beach, California (above), members worked out inside special pods filled with sanitized equipment. Gym owner Peet Sapsin built the pods out of shower curtains and pipes so members could exercise without face masks. The gym may have to close and reopen several times as the virus waxes and wanes—but many members still applauded the new setup.
“The Inspire team did a fantastic job of providing a safe social distanced workout,” wrote one online reviewer. “Only thing missing from pre-Covid was the hi-fives.” For a look at how the world dealt with a previous deadly pandemic, read our Times Past story on page 18.