Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Switzerland marks a year of ‘Covid-19’ life

Giovane seduto davanti a un murales raffigurante un coronavirus
Stephan Torre / Keystone

People in Switzerland have been living under the shadow of coronavirus restrictions for a year now. How has life changed?

On March 16, 2020, the Swiss government declared an “extraordinary situation” – putting the nation into a semi-lockdown as of midnight on March 17. This was when the authorities banned all private and public events, as well as closed restaurants, bars, leisure facilities and shops apart from grocery stores and pharmacies.

This gallery captures how Switzerland adapted to pandemic life between January and May 2020. Over the course of those months, our photo editors chose the most remarkable images from around the nation:

Containment measures have since been relaxed and tightened again. On March 12, 2021, the government warned there were signs of a potential third wave. More than 9,400 people in Switzerland (population 8.5 million) have died in connection with Covid-19.

The government plan foresees several stages for its exit strategy based on key factors, including infections, hospital admissions and the so-called reproduction number. Other factors are the spread of new strains of coronavirus and progress of the country’s vaccination programme, which has been delayed due to a shortage of supplies. Additional easing is expected on March 22 if the course of the pandemic allows.

More


In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR