Geneva’s famous Jet d’Eau fountain, which shoots water more than a hundred meters into the air, will remain shut down to signal the need for people to comply with travel restrictions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, authorities said on Wednesday (11/11).
This fountain previously would be reactivated this week after annual maintenance work, but local officials have decided to keep it turned off.
The Geneva regional government said in a statement that, with respect to the current health situation in Switzerland and Geneva related to the Covid-19 pandemic, it has decided to shut down the fountain.
By turning off the magnificent fountains, which usually attract large numbers of tourists, authorities said they hoped to “send a new signal to residents” that tourism and social interactions needed to be severely restricted.
Earlier, Jet d’Eau was shut down for 83 days during a partial shutdown in Switzerland when the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country in the spring.
The fountain, which shoots 140 meters of water into the air at 200 kilometers per hour before pouring it into Lake Geneva, has added to the city’s liveliness since 1891.
Usually, this fountain is only turned off during strong winds or freezing temperatures.
Like several icons in other cities, such as the Empire State Building in New York, this fountain is also decorated with lights of various colors at night.
Switzerland was relatively not too bad from the impact of the first wave of the pandemic.
However, when it has been hit by a second wave, Geneva is now struggling with capacity in hospitals, has closed all restaurants, bars, shops and other non-essential establishments to decrease the transmissions of corona cases and.