Three people from Zug tell their Corona stories

Mid-March marks the anniversary of the first lockdown. Life in the canton of Zug has changed a great deal for everyone since then. One woman and two men from Zug talk about their Corona Year. In addition, we review the turbulent last 12 months.

Paul Lötscher (38) accountant, Rotkreuz

"Because I’m a high-risk patient due to my high blood pressure and weak immune system, I mainly avoided contact with other people at the beginning of the corona crisis. I was therefore very surprised when I tested positive for the corona virus in August.

I felt very bad for eight weeks, and things only started getting a little better from October. I was so tired that even climbing stairs was a great effort for me, and my sense of smell and taste is still not as pronounced as before. In addition, I found I could hardly focus at work and could only organise myself poorly. Without the help of my employer, and in particular my direct manager, I wouldn’t have been able to cope with my daily work. My best friend always brought me some food. He put it in front of the door, and I was able to fetch it in as soon as he had gone.

Even when I had the quarantine behind me, I still didn't feel well, so I therefore voluntarily extended it. What happened in this second quarantine still gnaws at me today: One afternoon, my best friend came by and we had a beer on the terrace. He sat on the terrace and I inside the living room, with a distance of five metres between us. After so many days of quarantine, I simply missed the social contacts. Some neighbours seemed to have heard us laughing, and gossiped about us in a group chat and bad-mouthed us.

A short time later – when my friend was already gone – two policemen in protective suits arrived at my door and accused me of violating the Corona guidelines. Someone from the neighbourhood had complained about me, not knowing that I had already completed my prescribed quarantine and that my best friend and I had been more than careful. Fortunately, this was also the view of the officials, as my friend was able to confirm what had happened by telephone, and another witness could prove that we had complied with the guidelines. There was therefore no charge, and we never received an apology from the neighbours.

Corona has taught me one thing: In bad times, you realise who your true friends and supporters are."

Photo 1: Pascal Lötscher
Photo 2: Maggie Lüönd
Photo 3: Werner Uttinger

The Corona chronology: What happened in Zug

Maggie Luönd (64), Team leader nursing, Chösterli retirement home in Unterägeri

"This Corona year was not nice. And it's still not nice, even though we've probably weathered the worst. For me, the biggest drawback at work was the mask obligation– and also for the seniors. Especially when we’re help with showering -it’s also much more . difficult to understand each other.

Work in general has become more difficult steps since the first lockdown. Especially when, for example, a doctor needs to be consulted or tests have to be carried out. We are also only allowed to visit an isolated person if we are wearing protective suits.

The entire retirement home had to be quarantined for ten days at the end of November and the beginning of December. And as if that wasn't enough, there were then another ten days on top. The residents had to stay in their rooms and we brought their food to them. There were cases where we heard someone crying. Many residents felt trapped and complained that decisions were being made over their heads. Others were saddened that they weren’t allowed to be together over the last year. The ban on visits also had a very stressful effect on the residents. What do you say in such cases? I have always expressed my understanding, but I have also said that we have to get through this now. Together. So we had to offer more psychological support.

That eats away at you. I'm lucky enough to have a very understanding husband with who I can talk about everything. And we really talked a lot this past year."

Werner Uttinger (89), resident at the Chlosterli, Unterägeri

"I had Corona, although I didn't notice anything about it. My partner, with whom I live in a 2.5-bedroom apartment, remained negative. Nevertheless, we spent at least ten days in quarantine in our apartment. But this wasn’t such a bad time: we played games together, rested, listened to the radio or painted. In the summer we often took trips by car – we drove to Einsiedeln, or around the Rigi.

We have many protective measures in Chlösterli. We all wear masks, and are only allowed to eat in the cafeteria in shifts (by floor). I rather miss meeting the other residents. But there are always things we can do together. We recently painted Easter eggs.

The Chlösterli staff does their job incredibly well. I‘d like to compliment them at this point. They also brought carnival to us in the home. Only on a small scale, of course ,but there was music, we dressed up, danced and drank some wine.

I feel like I never had to be afraid of the virus. Now that my partner and I are both vaccinated, we feel even safer."