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The closure of restaurants is shown again: only French-speaking Switzerland is fighting the corona virus together.
In the second crown wave there is a pattern in western Switzerland: the cantons communicate with each other and make joint demands on the federal government. So far, this pattern has not been found in German-speaking Switzerland.
This became symptomatic as early as late October, when the second wave became an acute problem. Western Switzerland called for meetings to be limited and a curfew for restaurants. Because the federal government did not have an audience for this, the cantons of western Switzerland implemented it on their own. Zurich’s attitude at the time was: We are waiting for the federal government.
Figures prove Romandie is right
As the number of cases continued to rise, French-speaking Swiss restaurants were also closed for five weeks. But not everything was harmonized at that time, for example, shops that were not essential to life were opened in Geneva and Vaud. This sometimes led to absurd situations and shopping tourism.
Even more than these cantonal differences, the French-speaking Swiss peasants were upset by the crowded restaurants in the canton of Bern. The number of infections, however, gave reason for the Francophone approach: the number of cases decreased in the cantons of French-speaking Switzerland.
The state government only reacted in mid-December. First they announced the curfew and then the closing of the restaurants. There were protests from the French cantons because they had already done their homework, and they were heard. The Federal Council allows exceptions in the cantons if the number of cases allows it.
Hope for relief in January
Now the cantons of Vaud, Freiburg, Neuchâtel and Valais could continue to make use of the exceptions and leave the bistros open. But you don’t do it voluntarily. Therefore, they also sympathize with Jura and Geneva, who had to re-submit to the federal regime due to the increasing number of cases.
The cantons of western Switzerland admit that the number of cases is still too high. Therefore, the restaurants will remain closed until the new year. With this joint decision, the cantons are showing that only French-speaking Switzerland is fighting together against the coronavirus.
The common French-speaking approach could pay off in the new year. Then an R value of 0.9 is assumed for the exceptions for restaurants. Even the cantons of French-speaking Switzerland have not yet met these higher standards. Now they expect the numbers to drop in early January. And then they can reopen.
Andreas Stüdli
French-speaking Swiss Correspondent, Radio SRF
