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In photos: How Switzerland adapts to the pandemic

Switzerland has been adapting to life in the shadow of Covid-19 for weeks now. These images capture a highly unusual time in the nation’s history.

For anyone who hadn’t been following international virus news all that closely, late February’s cancellation of carnival festivities in canton Ticino – which borders Italy – was a clear sign that coronavirus was going to be a Swiss problem as well.

Also that month, hockey teams began playing in empty stadiums and the Geneva Motor Show – already being set up – was abruptly called off.

By March, testing had been ramped up and the number of confirmed cases began to climb rapidly – with hundreds of new cases per day between mid-March and late April.

The lockdown measures announced by the Federal Council on March 16 brought unnatural quiet and an underlying buzz of anxiety.

Is it safe to go to the supermarket or to ride the bus? Should we be wearing masks? How will businesses forced to close manage? Is it just allergies or am I sick? What to do with the kids?

This gallery gives impressions of a Switzerland trying to maintain some normalcy while preventing the spread of a dangerous virus for which there is no vaccine.

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