Swiss return to restaurants and gyms after winter closures

Lausanne: Francois Janmunoud, 74, raises a bar to his pectoral muscles, an intense effort that this Swiss is making enthusiastically after he was unable to go to the gym in recent months due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Although the epidemiological situation is barely improving, on Monday Switzerland reopened sports halls, cinemas and amphitheaters in bars and restaurants, which alleviates the health measures that were happily met. This coincided with the opening of large vaccination centers.

The pandemic has killed 9,800 of a population of 8.6 million, partly exhausted after a winter of confinement.

“We didn’t come to get fit, but let’s talk” with our colleagues, all retired, who were excited about the reopening of Lausanne, like many of the people present this morning at Club Lausanne, Janmunod told AFP.

In this weight training center, mask is not mandatory, except in locker rooms, and a distance of 1.5 meters with other people is required.

Although many of the athletes continued to play the sport on the shore of Lake Geneva, they acknowledged that returning to the gym was invaluable, as it allows “to raise the spirits and see their teammates”, says Jean-Jacques Sobilia, 74, While cycling.

“It’s very comfortable. Coming here is synonymous with building a social life,” says Didier Dewart, 72, who like many retirees usually goes to the gym in the early morning and is thus unaffected by the limited capacity.

The cleanliness of life

On the Monday that reopened after months of closure, most of the gyms were full.

“We had a lot more than we expected, they all showed us their relief after spending the winter at home,” explains Philippa Amorim, 24, head of the fitness room in downtown Lausanne, which was filled with about fifty athletes. .

“Most of them were happy to see their coaches again,” says Amorim, noting that the use of a mask is mandatory, even while doing cardio.

“This is part of the cleanliness of my life,” defends Tatiana Atanasio, 31, coaching dexterity. “A year of not going to the gym was upsetting for me. I’ve been exercising outside, but it’s different because I hate exercising on my own.”

In addition to gyms, cafes and restaurants were also able to serve their customers on the terraces, many of which were overcrowded despite the cold temperatures in Switzerland.

Sarah, 20, who studies theater in Lausanne, did not miss the reopening and in the morning she was already having coffee in a cafeteria, plus she planned to have some drinks on Monday night.

He lamented, “Coffee is observing, feeling, and exchanging eyes. During confinement, mental health was forgotten and mental health was prioritized.”

After 15 months of the pandemic, and several periods of confinement and restrictions in the Swiss state, the Swiss have learned to take matters into philosophy: “Now they open, then close. This does not prevent us from living,” says Hervé Lesserter, 52. Sitting on the balcony.