|
 President Guy Parmelin announced the measure on public television
last Sunday, 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 told Reuters he 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 which overlooks the
city.
[to top of second column] |
 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."
(Reporting by Cecile Mantovani and Denis
Balibouse in Lausanne; Writing by Stephanie
Nebehay; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Raissa
Kasolowsky)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content
 |
