City council members in Torrelavega Spain gathered online to hash out some of the latest issues facing the municipality of about 52,000 people. Following the protocols put in place as the coronavirus tightened its grip on Spain, half a dozen councilors dialed into the video-chat at 8am, streaming it online for journalists and residents.
As the meeting stretched past midday, Bernardo Bustillo began to fret that he wouldn’t have time to shower and shuttle his daughter to her commitments before heading to his other job as a swim instructor.
He came up with what seemed to him the perfect solution to multitask, hauling the computer into the bathroom and minimizing the chat screen so that he could listen in on the meeting as he showered.
A wave of discomfort rippled across the video-chat as he got out of the shower. “Say something to Berni. Say something to him quickly,” one colleague could be heard saying. Another asked: “We can’t disconnect him or do something?” The mayor swiftly took control, bringing an end to the meeting.
As video of the incident made the rounds online, Bustillo took to social media, saying he was at “complete peace” with what had transpired. He stressed that it had been an innocent accident – a failure of technological know-how rather than anything nefarious.