People sit on a terrace at Les Arches bar in the city centre, as coronavirus disease (COVID-19) lockdown restrictions ease, in Lausanne, Switzerland April 19, 2021. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
GENEVA: Some Swiss restaurants re-opened on Monday for diners on outdoor terraces, in the latest cautious easing of pandemic restrictions in the Alpine country, though others opted to stay shut saying it wasn't worth it.
Outdoor events are also now allowed with up to 100 visitors, and up to 50 audience members are permitted at indoor venues such as cinemas, theatres and concert halls.
The Swiss government announced the relaxing last week but warned that the situation remained "fragile".
In downtown Geneva, at the Bains des Paquis restaurant alongside the public bath houses, locals enjoyed outdoor food and drink on a chilly spring morning.
"It could have been taken a little bit earlier, if it's outside, it doesn't shock me at all and now there is the vaccine campaign," Geneva resident Laura Raynal told Reuters Television.
"And at one point, we need to get on with our lives, we won't be able to stay in this situation forever."
Patrick Bungener, who works at the nearby conservatory and botanical gardens, said: "It feels so good. We missed this since November, more or less, because Geneva closed earlier than the rest of Switzerland. Switzerland followed and the reopening did not happen. So what a pleasure."
Frederic Favre, president of the Users of the Bains des Paquis Association that runs the restaurant, said the government move had been unexpected.
"This is a positive surprise, but it surprised us. All of a sudden, things accelerated. First, and it's my personal opinion, I thought 'isn't there a little bit of a rush?'.
"Because what's horrible is the 'stop and go', meaning opening to close again, it is a lot of energy, it is quite hopeless, we lose our stocks, so this is the problem...
Honestly, I would not want to be in the shoes of the people taking the decisions right now."
Yoan Lomet, owner of L'elephant Dans La Canette, said he could not afford to employ two waiters for the terrace and decided to only offer take-away to his customers.
"It was awful. It was long. It raises a lot of issues, especially now that we are arriving at the end of our savings. We don't know what to do or where we are going. So, it was very complicated, so this little opening, it warms our hearts," he said, adding that he lost 10 years of work in one year.
