The shutdown of non-essential stores yesterday led to a lot of confusion as to what is essential and what isn’t. For example clothes cannot be sold but underwear, socks and tights can (as long as there are not too expensive!). A bookstore can sell newspapers but not books; a sports shop can rent out skis but not sell them; markets are closed except for the food markets, meaning the market along the Reuss will remain open on Tuesday and Saturday mornings because they sell food. Many other stores are offering a click and collect system so don’t be surprised if you walk downtown to see some stores open but only letting you in if you’ve placed an online order.
It is a bit confusing to see the number of cases going down and yet be told that things are going to get worse, this is because the new variants of the virus are continuing to spread in the country. There are now 6 hotspots with new variants throughout the country and worryingly 4 of them were found to have infected children and led to schools having to close. To date none have been found in central Switzerland.
School directors are gearing for a shutdown of secondary schools, and it could happen as soon as next monday for 6 weeks (including the Fasnacht holidays). They are waiting for the government to give the go ahead, and the government is waiting to see what the numbers are doing… we should all know in the coming days.
4000 people in Lucerne who had signed up over the weekend to receive the vaccine have been told to apply online again as there was a technical glitch. These people have all been contacted via sms.
Finally, in the last few days people have been able to enjoy an unusual activity at the Allmend: cross country skiing. Its wide flat expanse covered in snow was too good to resist and a cross country trail was soon to be found. Today is your last chance to enjoy it though as the snow is set to melt as of tomorrow.
