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EXPLAINED: What you should know about restaurant re-openings in French-speaking Switzerland

Restaurants will open again this week in French-speaking cantons in Switzerland. This is what you should know about the rules.

Published: 8 December 2020 12:06 CET
EXPLAINED: What you should know about restaurant re-openings in French-speaking Switzerland
Restaurants in Swiss-French part, like this one in Lausanne, are getting ready to re-open on Thursday. Photo by AFP

More than a month after closing down, restaurants and cafés in Geneva, Vaud, Neuchâtel, Fribourg and Jura will resume their operations on December 10th. In Valais, the re-opening is planned for December 13th.

The cantons said that the decision to re-open “was made in a concerted manner and with a desire for harmonisation and clarity” among the neighbouring regions. 

Authorities noted that the decision to re-open was driven by the steadily declining coronavirus infection rates in the regions, which until the first week of November had been among the most impacted in Switzerland.

The establishments will, however, have to implement several measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus among customers and staff:

  • Tables must be at least 1.5 metres apart and masks must be worn if customers are not seated.
  • Eating will only be permitted while sitting.
  • Only up to four people will be allowed per table.
  • Contact details for tracing must be provided.
  • Establishments must close from 11 pm to 6 am. The only exception will be made on December 31st, when they will be able to stay open until 1 am.

Authorities said they would monitor “for the possible effects of the re-opening on the pandemic. This means the decision can be revoked if the health situation requires it”.

READ MORE: Cafés and restaurants in most of French-speaking Switzerland to re-open on December 10th 

Heated terraces

As there is a lower risk for coronavirus transmission in the open air, restaurants and cafés will be allowed to install special heaters outdoors, to encourage customers to eat outside.

This procedure requires a special permission, and municipalities will grant this authorisation on an exceptional basis.

Different rules for bars

Although the same regulations apply to restaurants in all six cantons, there is divergence concerning pubs.

In Geneva, Fribourg and Valais, bars will have to follow the same rules as restaurants.

But Vaud and Neuchâtel are more restrictive, allowing only bars that serve food to re-open. This means that customers must order food in those bars; if that is not an option, the establishments will remain closed.

In Jura, bars where customers can eat will remain open until 11 pm. But those that don’t serve food will have to close at 6:30 pm.

 

 

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COVID-19

What does the increase in the number of Covid cases in Switzerland mean?

Coronavirus infections are on the rise again, with Swiss health officials and epidemiologists expressing concern over the possible evolution of the disease.

Published: 15 November 2023 15:32 CET
What does the increase in the number of Covid cases in Switzerland mean?

While the worst of the Covid pandemic is long over, and experts don’t expect it to re-emerge with the same strength and health consequences as it had in 2020, new cases have been reported in the past weeks.

Wastewater analysis, one of the means employed by health officials to measure the presence of coronavirus, indicates a viral load that is at least five times higher than usual, with values “now almost as high as in some previous Omicron-related waves,” Christoph Ort, spokesperson for Eawag Institute, which traces Covid viruses in 14 wastewater treatment plants in Switzerland, told the media.

What does this mean?

According to Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), the most common sub-variant in Switzerland right now is the highly transmissible XBB, also known as ‘Kraken.’

The Eris and Pirola variants, which circulated in the summer and early fall are also still present.

While none is nearly as dangerous (at least for most people) as the early Alpha and Delta viruses, which claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in the early stages of the pandemic, there is a reason for concern nevertheless.

“It’s a start of a small wave,” said Rudolf Hauri, head of the Cantonal Doctors’ Association.

“More people are being admitted to hospitals again with, or because of, coronavirus. There are also new cases in intensive care units, but these are generally people with a medical history.”

Should you be worried?
 
While the number of people with serious Covid-related complications is not expected to be as high as previously, the rise in the number of infections should not be trivialised either, infectious disease specialists say.
 
This is especially important for people in the high-risk category — those over 65 or suffering from chronic illnesses — who can get quite sick if infected with the new variants, according to FOPH.
 
This is all the more important as the flu season is about to begin in Switzerland as well, and the confluence of both illnesses, plus other respiratory viruses that typically circulate during the winter, can be very risky.
 
What can you do to protect yourself?
 
Other than adopting the same protective measures as those during the pandemic — that is, washing hands, avoiding close contacts and crowded spaces, and wearing masks where needed — health officials also recommend top-up shots, for both Covid and flu.

READ ALSO: Who should get top-up Covid and flu jabs in Switzerland?

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