- Title: Swiss church bells mark year since first COVID-19 death
- Date: 5th March 2021
- Summary: ZURICH, SWITZERLAND (MARCH 5, 2020) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF GROSSMUENSTER CHURCH PASTOR, CHRISTOPH SIGRIST, LIGHTING CANDLES TO PAY TRIBUTE TO COVID-19 VICTIMS IN SWITZERLAND PEOPLE HUGGING IN FRONT OF CHURCH VARIOUS OF CHURCH WITH BELLS RINGING LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND (MARCH 5, 2020) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF VIEW OF LAUSANNE WITH CHURCHES BELLS RINGING WATCHMAN OF LAUSANNE CATHEDRAL, RENATO HAUSLER, ARRIVING AND STARTING TO RING BELL CALLED "LA CLEMENCE" (SOUNDBITE) (French) WATCHMAN OF LAUSANNE CATHEDRAL, RENATO HAUSLER, SAYING: "When the fire started somewhere in the city, the watchman, after he announced where it was happening, he came here and he rang the bell in this manner to maintain social cohesion and the solidarity among the population that was fighting the fire. At first, of course, it was a matter of worry, but then it was considered as a way of encouraging people to continue to fight. And it is an analogy of what is happening today, so we decided to ring the bell in this way. And today, it's been a year (since the pandemic started), so it was kind of a way to pay tribute."
- Embargoed: 19th March 2021 15:13
- Keywords: COVID-19 Geneva Lausanne Switzerland Zurich anniversary bells church
- Location: ZURICH, GENEVA AND LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND
- City: ZURICH, GENEVA AND LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND
- Country: Switzerland
- Topics: Europe,Health/Medicine
- Reuters ID: LVA001E2T5GLJ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Swiss church bells rang out at noon on Friday (March 5) and people observed a minute of silence to mark a year since the country's first death from COVID-19.
President Guy Parmelin announced the measure on public television last Sunday (February 28), urging citizens to honour the more than 9,300 people who have died from the disease in Switzerland.
At the Notre-Dame cathedral in Lausanne, a French-language Swiss city in the western part of the country, watchman Renato Hausler rang the 16th-century 'La Clemence' bell.
In April, as the pandemic set in, Hausler had resumed the practice of climbing the 153 stone steps to its tower to ring the bell at night, to stir residents' solidarity and courage.
On Friday, Hausler said he was ringing the bell to pay tribute and to remind people to keep strong.
"It's a call for bravery, but it's especially a call for patience and perseverance, that's for sure. Because it is not going to end like this, as easily as we would have like or thought," he said, standing in front of Lausanne's gothic cathedral that overlooks the city.
So far 9,331 people have died of COVID-19 in Switzerland and neighbouring Liechtenstein during the pandemic, while 562,290 cases have been confirmed.
Enjoying the view was Lausanne resident and pharmacist Simon Reboh, who was also in a pensive mood.
"It is nice to be able to stop and to think about what is happening. We are grabbed by our daily lives, we don't have the time to think," he said. "That's why I'm here, in front of a view that allows me to slow down."
(Production: Cecile Mantovani, Arnd Wiegmann) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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