The flyers have already been printed. And a hundred people were expected to come from Sicily to participate in a cultural and musical event within the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). “We had to cancel this event, initially scheduled for April 23 and 24. It has been postponed until this fall, ”laments Carmelo Vaccaro, coordinator of the Society of Italian Associations in Geneva (SAIG). A Sicilian folk show was also scheduled to take place on April 25 in Carouge, at Place du Molard and in Vernier, under the patronage of the Italian Consulate General. Surrounding this Italian journalist, Vincenzo Bartolomeo and Francesco Decicco, who respectively chair Sicilian and Calabrian cultural associations, comment on the latest events affecting their country of origin.
Vincenzo Bartolomeo had to cancel five seats in a flight to Catania, scheduled for March 13. “I had planned to get out by car in early April to join my family in Calabria, explains Francesco Decicco. But I still don’t know if I’m going on this trip because of the restrictions announced by the Italian authorities. ” “In May, slips Carmelo Vaccaro, I plan to go to Italy to prepare a new visit to Geneva of representatives from Sicily and Tuscany. Obviously, I’m not sure I’m going there now. ”
Bookings for the Easter holidays in Italy, but also for the next summer holidays, are down, says Bianca Gähweiler, spokesperson for Hotelplan Switzerland. Ditto on the transport side. A sharp drop in train traffic is announced by SBB.
Is Swiss’s link between Geneva and Florence, which could come into effect on March 29, maintained? Airline spokesperson Michael Stief says “schedules will be changed depending on the situation.” Not very clear as an answer… In addition, Swiss specifies “to cancel until March 31 the costs of modification of reservation for all future flight reservations worldwide, thus offering the possibility of modifying travel dates once at no cost initially planned ”. And the second time? Disbursements may be at the expense of the client, no one knowing how this health crisis will develop
For its part, Easyjet says “currently reviewing its flight program between March 10 and April 3, 2020. The majority of flights to and from the airports of Milan Malpensa, Milan Linate, Venice and Verona have been canceled for the next few days and the passengers concerned were informed of their options by e-mail and by SMS, in particular the possibility of a transfer on another flight or a full refund. ”
Companies are also organizing. Like the giant STMicroelectronics, a Franco-Italian manufacturer of electronic chips. The multinational, with 46,000 employees, headquartered in Geneva, where it employs 210 people, maintains a production site near Monza in northern Italy. Like many other industrialists, it scrupulously follows the instructions of the WHO and Italian public authorities in order to protect employees and their families from infection. “We asked employees to organize their meetings by video or telephone to avoid travel,” said Isabelle Veillon, one of the group’s spokespersons.
Another industrialist headquartered in Geneva and one of the sites in the industrial north of the Italian peninsula, Bracco Research declined to provide details on the measures taken or the financial impact linked to the virus. This 3,400-person SME specializing in medical imaging operates a factory near Ivrea. The sea giant MSC, which manages seventeen ships, three of which are unclear, is no more vocal.
Created: 03/10/2010, 20h18
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