plexiglass

いわゆる「新しい日常」などと言われておりますが、新型コロナウィルス感染症の感染拡大対策のひとつに、飛沫の拡散を防止するカーテンや衝立の設置があり、スーパーマーケットを始めとする店舗等では日常風景となった感があります。

具体的には、店舗の窓口やレジ、飲食店などで、人と人とが対面でやり取りを行う際にお互いに飛沫を受けることを防ぐために、カーテンを設置したりアクリル樹脂製の仕切板を設置しているところがほとんどです。

米フロリダ州の小学校では、各机に前と左右を取り囲むようにしてアクリル樹脂板を設置する取組みがメディアで取り上げられています。

各机にはジープに見えるような飾り付けがしてあり、学童に上がって間もない子ども達が違和感無く受け入れられるような工夫がされています。


(CNN) — Teachers across the United States are preparing to welcome students back to the classroom. But as coronavirus cases rise, many worry that young children's excitement will quickly turn into fear.

That's why two first grade teachers in DeLand, Florida, decided to transform their students' desks into little Jeeps.

Patricia Dovi, 35, and Kim Martin, 51, of St. Barnabas Episcopal School spent a week redesigning the desks, which feature construction paper tires, headlights and license plates. The desks have three-sided plastic dividers that serve as windshields and side windows as well as sneeze guards.

The desks, which are spaced far apart, are the only place where students are permitted to remove their face masks.

Martin said their goal was to create a space for students to feel comfortable while following health and safety guidelines.

"Our school gave us plexiglass tri-folds, which we felt would overwhelm our little ones. So we took the design and turned them into little Jeeps," Martin told CNN.
(Alaa Elassar. Two Florida teachers turned their students' desks into little Jeeps to make social distancing less scary. CNN. August 23, 2020.)


透明なアクリル樹脂製の仕切板のことを、


plexiglass


と表現しています。

実はこの"plexiglass"（プレキシグラス）というのは元々は商標名（Plexiglas）で、ドイツの化学メーカーが開発したものだそうです。


The generic term plexiglass comes from the trademark name Plexiglas, first used in 1933 by a German chemical company for a transparent acrylic that served as a glass substitute; one of the early uses was in airplane windows. Other trademarked names for acrylic glass include Acrylite, Lucite, and Persplex. In addition to its use in aircraft, plexiglass is used for camera lenses, car light covers, and medical devices for illuminating and visually inspecting interior organs.
(Merriam-Websterオンラインより引用)


"plexiglass"のplexi-は、恐らくラテン語のplectere（編む、織る）から来ていると思われ、plexusは撚り合わせたもの、という意味で、故に可塑性がある、曲げたり形を自由に成型できるという特徴があることを指しています。

新型コロナウィルス感染症の拡大の影響で、このプレキシグラスの需要が増大し、ちょっとしたバブルになっているという報道もあります。


A Plexiglass bubble could be the future of dining during the pandemic.

It's called the Plex'Eat, and it's designed to go over patrons' heads as they eat while it hangs from the ceiling. French designer Christophe Gernigon claims it can help protect customers from the coronavirus while they eat indoors.

The chandelier-like shades will cost business owners almost $200 each.

And it's one of the many plastic barriers companies are buying to ensure both customers and employees feel protected from transmission of the coronavirus.
(Restaurant owners hope plexiglass barriers are the future of indoor dining. Business Insider. August 12, 2020.)


記事によりますと、レストランで対面して食事をしている客の頭をすっぽりと覆うようにドーム状のプレキシグラスのカバーが天井から吊るされています。

コストは1つあたり約2万円。う～ん・・・。