1. Malta’s clubbing season would traditionally have begun last weekend, but most clubs remain closed, trying to figure out how to bring customers in while keeping to social distancing measures.

However, with groups of six people now allowed to hang together, Playa took the opportunity and set up its sofas into separate islands, allowing them to keep people apart.

2. Each sofa area is separated by a red velvet rope.

3. “All tables are being kept a distance of two metres from other tables, and only waiter service is allowed,” a Playa spokeswoman told Lovin Malta.

“And as soon as people enter the club, we check their temperature and ask them to apply some hand sanitiser by the entrance, and we have hand sanitisers all over the place,” she continued.

All waiters and barmen are using protective face shields and gloves – though it will be interesting to see what DJs might have to wear once they start reappearing.

4. The use of the pool is allowed – though no one has used it yet – and from today they’ll be rolling out sunbeds in line with regulations.

5. And they’ve also opened their nearby seaside restaurant, which passed the MTA inspection and is fully compliant with regulations.

As summer approaches and the clubbing industry begins to try and get a grasp of the situation before the season is over, we might be seeing more unusual setups on the island in an attempt to have some form of clubbing entertainment.

Any club with an outdoor location – especially if it is spacious – is going to have a big advantage when trying to find ways to open amid a pandemic. However, with people already booking sofas, and hairdressers and restaurants slowly seeing customers return, it seems like there may actually be some, albeit smaller, clubbing options this summer.

What do you think of this approach to opening?