Swiss breathes fresh air

The lifting of the corona measures brings with it major changes for many people. A look at the regions.

It is passé: the obligation to have certificates and masks in restaurants or clubs. For the first time in two years, there are hardly any corona protection measures in most cantons. The first day of the easing shows that everyone has to get used to it first.

Anna Götenstedt from the Harmonie restaurant in Basel can hardly believe it. A number of people called early in the morning to reserve a table for the carnival, she says. She is happy to be able to welcome all guests again, but is also skeptical about the next few weeks. Sreten Bojanic, owner of the Weinbar Sonne restaurant, can only smile this Thursday: “I am overjoyed that my restaurant survived the last two years of the pandemic,” he says.

The streets of Basel are pleased that the upcoming Basel carnival can now also take place with practically no restrictions. The Basel Government Council decided in a special session that restaurants and cliques may also be open continuously during the carnival from March 7th to 9th. And in the Basel area, too, the carnival should take place within a normal framework. A great pleasure for Martin Klaus, President of the Liestal Carnival Committee: “That there will be a move again: unbelievable!”

Good business in Eastern Switzerland

In a clothes shop in St. Gallen, a saleswoman is happy: “You can finally see the faces again. Everyone is beaming.” In a restaurant nearby, the employees took a new team photo in the morning – the first time without a mask.

“It’s really nice,” says the landlady Ursula Inauen-Koch from the Ilge restaurant in Teufen. Her phone has been ringing all morning. ‘I should be hiring a switchboard operator soon. I have a lot of reservations for general meetings of clubs,” she says.

Disciplined commuters in Bern

Many masks were still seen on public transport in the Bern region on the opening day. The commuters continued to adhere to the mask wearing requirement, which is still in force. On the platforms, in station halls and underpasses, on the other hand, the passengers took it a little easier and often wore the mask under their chin, an SRF reporter experienced in the morning.

In the cafés near Bern train station, the staff continued to wear masks, but the sales staff in many shops in Bern’s shopping mile did not wear them, reports the Keystone-SDA news agency. Distance markings have also disappeared from most stores. In the Shoppyland shopping center in Schönbül, for example, less than one in five people still wore a mask – it was primarily the older people.

Lucerne baker misses the mask

Alex Amrein, a baker from Büron in the canton of Lucerne, reveals that the mask also had its advantages. The so-called flour asthma has probably decreased, he says. “Nobody coughed in our bakery anymore.” For the first time he really realized how much flour and dust you breathe in at work. “Black edges have formed on the fabric around the nose.” Nevertheless, he is happy to be able to take off the mask now: “I like to see the faces.”

As of today, schools are also exempt from the obligation to wear masks. This is unusual, says a teacher at the Sursee Kant School in Lucerne. “I’m getting to know individual students for the first time today without a mask and they look different than I imagined.” They seemed younger. “It’s interesting what the head thinks about it when you only see the eyes.”

Individual faces are still covered in the corridors of the canton school. A student, for example, says it’s a strange feeling without a mask. That’s why she now wears it under her chin. “I wasn’t sure if you could omit them entirely.” In fact, it even happened today that she missed the mask. “It was easier to yawn undetected in class.”

It is a happy day for sport, says Daniel Schacher, Managing Director of the Zurich Gymnastics Association. The association has more than 55,000 members and includes sports such as artistic gymnastics, fistball and racing bikes. And they could all train again freely and without a mask. Despite all the joy about a first big step towards normality, he also makes it clear that there is still a great deal of responsibility and compliance with hygiene measures.

Zurich trade made easier

It sounds similar on the part of the SME and trade association. He is extremely grateful and thinks it’s “a really good thing,” says its president, Werner Scherrer. In the meantime, for example, people have gotten used to the masks, but for many it has remained something of a nuisance. The mask is a disadvantage, especially in direct contact with customers. However, employers can decide for themselves whether they still have to wear a mask in the workplace.

However, the “City Vereinigung Zürich”, which represents over 1,350 members in the city center, advocates that employees continue to wear a mask. Its president, Milan Prenosil, argues that right now the staff is needed on site and not in isolation.

One is relieved at the Zurich nightclubs, especially with regard to the profitability of the operations, says Alexander Bücheli from the Zurich Bar and Club Commission. “We are also happy to be able to welcome all guests again without exception.”

(SRF)