Geneva (AFP)

Switzerland, worried about the spread of the coronavirus epidemic among its Italian and German neighbors, Friday canceled the Geneva Motor Show, weekend football matches and carnivals, as well as any public event or private major.

The organizers of the Geneva Motor Show, a major meeting of the sector which brings together more than 600,000 people every year for ten days in March, said last week that they would not cancel the event, unless the authorities demand it.

It is now done. The government, meeting in extraordinary session Friday, has prohibited until March 15 at least the holding of any public or private event bringing together more than 1,000 people, while fifteen cases of coronavirus have been detected for the moment in Switzerland which will idle.

"These measures have proven to be effective in other countries" and are in line with the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO), said Swiss Minister of Health Alain Berset during a press conference.

This unprecedented ban does not apply to public transport and corporate offices, he said, arguing that it is "easier to comply with the recommended hygiene measures".

- 'Force majeure' -

A few days before the opening of the Geneva Motor Show, where 150 exhibitors were expected from March 5 to 15, the stand assembly was almost complete.

"We regret this situation but the health of all is our top priority," said Maurice Turrettini, president of the event. Visitors will have their tickets refunded, but exhibitors will not.

"This is a case of force majeure and a very heavy blow for the exhibitors who have invested massively in their presence in Geneva," he noted.

Car enthusiasts will not be the only disappointed since the Swiss Football League has just decided to postpone the meetings of the weekend indefinitely. Hockey matches will be played behind closed doors.

In Geneva, the first Catholic mass in five centuries to be held on Saturday at Saint-Pierre cathedral has also been postponed, as has the watchmaking fair (scheduled for April 25 to 29).

According to local authorities, around twenty other events are being reassessed in Geneva, which hosts the European headquarters of the United Nations, as well as a multitude of international organizations including the WHO.

In Zurich, the country's largest city, the concerts of the American hard-rocker Alice Cooper and the legendary guitarist Carlos Santana cannot be held. Carnivals, including that of Basel, were also canceled, as was the Basel watch fair.

As for events of less than 1,000 people, the organizers must, in collaboration with the authorities, assess the risks to determine whether or not they can hold them.

The Swiss Minister of Health has recognized that this limit of 1,000 people may seem "arbitrary" but stressed that it was "an appropriate and effective first step".

"We have seen in recent days that the cases have spread widely around the world (...), in particular in the neighboring countries of Switzerland, I am thinking in particular of Italy and Germany," said M. Berset to journalists.

"Even if the authorities of these countries are doing everything to control the situation, it is starting to elude them," he said, explaining that despite strong measures, "the situation in Italy no longer allows the chain to be rebuilt infections ".

In Switzerland, around fifteen cases have been detected, including the first Tuesday in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, bordering Italy. He is a septuagenarian who recently traveled to Milan (northern Italy), where he is said to have contracted the disease. Other cases have since been recorded in several cantons, including in Geneva (west), Zurich (north), Basel (north) and in the canton of Graubünden (east).

The government expects an increase in cases in the coming days.

© 2020 AFP