Diners enjoy a fondue at 'Le Vieil Ouchy' in Lausanne, where restaurants reopened in May
Credit: JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BOTT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock /Shutterstock
Business is brisk in the shops of the Alpine town of Davos.
Apart from the ubiquitous sight of masks — available crystal-encrusted in this luxury Swiss ski resort – there are almost no signs of a global pandemic.
In Vögele Shoes store, biotech executive Aled Williams, 50, is busy buying his daughter a pair of snow boots.
“Everyone is very respectful here,” he said. “Distances are maintained, hand sanitizers are everywhere and businesses are open. It’s a great vibe.”
This landlocked country is home to the five European regions hit hardest by the coronavirus, according to the World Health Organization, but Switzerland has chosen not to implement a second national lockdown, so for many, life goes on more or less as normal.
Switzerland’s light-touch approach has been likened to that of Sweden, which refused to enter lockdown earlier this year alongside most other European nations and became one of the worst-affected areas in Europe.
Swiss officials reject the comparison, pointing out that they did have a lockdown in spring. Switzerland was among the first countries to reopen bars and restaurants, however.
Mr Williams, who lives in Zug and works in Basel, said he dined with his family in Totalp, a restaurant on the edge of a ski piste, on the weekend.
“It was busy but they managed it very professionally,” he said. “The tables are separated by screens. Diners log in to an app and register before being served. It works like clockwork, as you would expect in Switzerland.”
“We need to look at the collateral damage to the economy and keep business open and shield the vulnerable,” he added.
“Switzerland is unique in many ways and a nationwide lockdown is not the solution.”
Skiers wearing masks on their way up the Titlis mountain
Credit: ALEXANDRA WEY/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock /Shutterstock
His view is a popular one, despite stricter measures being urged by the head of the Swiss National Covid-19 Science Task Force.
Martin Ackermann has recommended closing bars and restaurants, limiting interactions to two households, and enforcing home office and distance learning.
He said the country would soon run out of intensive care beds based on current infection rates.
Switzerland is experiencing a major spike in infections, with more than 30,000 cases in the last seven days and almost 500 deaths, according to the World Health Organization.
Finance minister Ueli Maurer has warned a second lockdown would be “disastrous”, however.
Last week he accused the taskforce of “short-sightedness and moralising”, branding its scientists as “know-it-alls”.
“We have to live, we have to be able to earn money, to be able to shop,” he said. The government’s message remains clear – business is king.
Instead it is urging “self-responsibility” and that people follow the existing rules.
Currently, masks are compulsory outdoors and in public indoor spaces, hospitality venues must close at 11pm, a maximum of 10 people can gather indoors, and no more than four people can share a table in a restaurant unless they live together.
Many of the 26 cantons have been happy to stick with these minimum requirements. Others have added a few clauses.
Lucerne, for example, has closed sex shops, Obwalden has capped public events to 30 people and Solothurn has closed shisha bars.
The French-speaking canton of Geneva is the only one to have closed all non-essential businesses until November 29, however. With more than 2,400 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the past 14 days, Geneva is the worst hit region in Europe, followed by Fribourg, Vaud, Neuchâtel and Valais – all in Switzerland.
The high infection rate is likely in part due to the city’s density. Almost 30,000 people live in one square kilometre in the heart of Geneva, more than the average density in Manhattan, New York.
The canton also borders the worst hit part of France, Haute-Savoie, and is home to a large number of international organisations, including the World Health Organization
“Geneva is a very international environment meaning employees travel extensively which is certainly a factor,” said Sophie Balmat, 48, a nurse who commutes daily for work in Geneva but lives in Chamonix, France.
A man walks past a closed Prada shop after partial lockdown measures were introduced in Geneva
Credit: DENIS BALIBOUSE /REUTERS
Genevan retailers, however, are unhappy about the restrictions, which has seen neighbouring cantons enjoy a rise in shoppers.
“We are fighting to reopen shops in Geneva,” said Sophie Dubuis, president of the Federation of Retailers in Geneva. “It’s a great injustice.”
“The clusters of infection are not coming from shoppers. Genevan shops adhere to a strict protocol and it makes no sense to board them up.”
As the numbers continue to spiral, the divisions in Switzerland are growing deeper. Socialist MP Flavia Wasserfallen said: “We will not get any further in this crisis if we point fingers at each other. We cannot drive a wedge between science and politics.
“A functioning economy is only possible with healthy people.”
In an open letter to the government earlier this month, 70 prominent economists urged the introduction of stricter measures. “Switzerland now needs a second lockdown with strong fiscal support,” it said.
“Even in purely economic terms, the overall cost will be smaller than with the current lighter measures that evidently failed to contain the virus’ spread.”
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