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Canton of Bern closes restaurants at 9 pm
Because the number of corona cases has not continued to decline as expected, restaurants in the canton of Bern will have to close at 9pm on Monday. The idea behind it: the people of Bern should reduce their social contacts as much as possible.
The governing council runs the greatest risk of contagion when people meet somewhere and mix. The health director, Pierre-Alain Schnegg, once again urged the population to reduce social contacts as much as possible. “Stay home, don’t meet friends,” Schnegg said.
The canton has discussed stricter measures for gastronomy with the Gastrobern industry association, as economic director Christoph Ammann said at a press point on Friday.
Other cantons have closed restaurants completely. However, this was not a necessity for the canton of Bern, as Schnegg explained. He trusts that the measures now imposed can improve the epidemiological situation in the canton of Bern.
Maximum 50 guests
Schnegg didn’t deny that the early curfew made “eating out with friends or family” really impossible. He even asked people to get by without him whenever possible. With the closure of the restaurants at 9 pm, people who have to eat out are catered for.
In addition to the curfew, the government has also reduced the maximum number of guests that can stay inside a restaurant at the same time to 50. Until now, there was a limit of 100 people.
The canton of Bern is not planning additional financial support for the catering industry beyond federal hardship regulation, as Ammann explained.
Take-out products, among other things, are excluded from the stricter regulations. However, with their protection concepts, they must ensure that there are no crowds of people in their bars, as Schnegg explained.
Less testing
Another phenomenon worries Schnegg: the number of corona tests is decreasing. The government does not know the reason for this bear market. “People in Bern have to get more tests,” said Schnegg ahead of the cold season with colds and flu. Even those who only have mild symptoms should definitely get tested.
Bern’s hospitals are still very busy due to the pandemic. “We have to prevent sanitary facilities from being overloaded,” Schnegg said.
(sda)
