SO SORRY .. No kissing please, we're Swiss and it's Covid-19

Workers dismantling stalls and packing crates at Palexpo, the venue for the cancelled Geneva International Motor Show in Geneva, Switzerland. The car show, which was due to start on Monday (March 2), was cancelled as a force majeure after the Swiss government barred large gatherings, due to the Covid-19 outbreak in Europe. - Bloomberg

VIENNA: Swiss people should consider dropping the everyday greeting of kissing each other on the cheeks, to avoid spreading the Covid-19 (coronavirus), Switzerland's Health Minister Alain Berset said in remarks published on Sunday (March 1).

In Switzerland, as in neighbouring France, it is common for women and people of opposite sexes to greet each other with alternating kisses on both cheeks. The Swiss version generally involves an asymmetrical three in total, in contrast to the two more usual for 'la bise' (the kiss) across the border.