Last Friday I learned that the day before, the Swiss Federal Council had agreed to relax the COVID measures, so that the use of masks is limited to public transport and health institutions only. This morning I was reading that similar measures are being adopted in other European countries like the UK, Norway, France, Germany, and Austria.

It is true that vaccination rates have reached important levels in most of these countries, that COVID cases have decreased significantly, and that fortunately Omicron-related cases have been milder than previous variants, but in any case it feels a bit surreal to enter stores and restaurants without having to wear the mask that has been one of our essential accessories during these long months of the pandemic.

Fingers crossed that the situation continues to evolve so positively!