Swiss Review 4/2020

Swiss Review / July 2020 / No.4 12 STÉPHANE HERZOG Inside: safety. Outside: the virus. This is how the lockdown period was presented, beginning on 16 March and with restrictions re- laxing significantly from 11 May, when the schools reopened. Over- night, the Swiss population had to adopt a whole new way of life: gaug- ing social distances, disinfecting hands, wearing a mask, and having work meetings online. “It took me a month to get used to a new rhythm at home,” recalls Marie Cénec, a church Disoriented consumption At the height of the lockdown, Swiss households increased their food purchases (+18.6%) as well as their consumption of services related to media and communication (+71.2%) and spending in supermarkets (+36.7%). In contrast, the Swiss halved their spending on clothing and reduced their spending on petrol by 22%. Spending in restaurants dropped by 53.8% and hairdressers saw a dramatic drop in activity (-80.8%). Cited by the “Neue Zürcher Zeitung” (NZZ), these figures come from Postfinance, which analysed its 2.7 mil- lion clients’ purchases between mid-March and mid-April. Online business boomed. In April, Swiss Post told the newspaper “Le Temps” that it was handling almost 850,000 parcels per day, indicating a 40% increase compared to the same period last year. Digitec Galaxus, managed by Migros, indicated that sales of fitness equipment and board games had almost quadrupled, while sales of erotic goods had doubled. (SH) COVID-19 and lockdown: a profound impact on the population The Swiss experience a new way of life Our homes became the centre point of our lives. Our normal social and consumer habits were turned upside down. But the Swiss lockdown experience varied greatly depending on people’s social situation. A crisis is ... when people panic- buy toilet paper. ... when Switzerland’s biggest railway station is empty at rush hour (Zurich). ... when the floors are marked out with tape to maintain social distanc- ing. Photos: Keystone pastor from Geneva. “Habits are easy, but changing your behaviour is tir- ing,” says the minister, who has been supporting the members of her par- ish via the social network, WhatsApp, sharing poems, prayers and interces- sions directly with those suffering. A multi-speed lockdown Fanny Parise, anthropologist and re- search associate at the Lemanic Insti- tute for Practical Theology of the Uni- versity of Lausanne, identified four groups within the population during lockdown. These archetypes are based on a study which started in March, involving 6,000 people di- vided equally between Switzerland and France. This unprecedented study shows that 46% of participants Focus