Switzerland to observe minute of silence to commemorate COVID-19 victims

Swiss President Guy Parmelin has called for a minute of silence at noon on March 5 to pay respect for more than 9,000 people dead from COVID-19 in the country so far, reported Xinhua.

In a statement issued early Monday morning, the president also suggested that churches ring their bells on March 5, the day that marks the first COVID-19 victim in Switzerland -- a 74-year-old woman who died in Lausanne.

"Now is the time to take a break to focus our thoughts on them and the people that miss them," Parmelin said. "I call on all the inhabitants of our country to observe a minute of silence in memory of those whom the disease took from us during this year."

Parmelin said that the event will not only be a commemoration as he presented the event as "an opportunity for each of us to draw strength from solidarity and friendship."

"All together, step by step, we will overcome the pandemic so that this year will not be a bad memory," he said.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, close to 555,000 people had been infected and 9,271 died in Switzerland, according to the latest official data from the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) released on Feb. 26.