Can you still hear or read the word "Corona", dear reader? Or are you already suffering from an overdose? I don't want to downplay it at all. I am in the risk group myself. My behavior has been adjusted; we no longer go shopping and have no physical social contact.

For me personally, as an elected parliamentarian, life went from 100 to 0. That's how it will be when I no longer sit in the Grand Council. I will accept that I have not been invited to every event. But I will also be happy that the marathon of meetings and the reading and writing work will decrease and my workload will decrease massively, or I will only have to concentrate on my voluntary jobs. In addition, my life will allow us to go on lots of trips and walks when the weather is nice. In the last three weeks we have already walked around 75 km from home. Whether a lot or a little is not the appearance. We were outside, in the sun, that's all that counts.

But now we also listen to SRF radio every day and read newspapers. There have been reports about the rising number of unemployed. It's not just young people who are increasingly unable to find work, no, many employees aged 50+ are being laid off - even though companies are announcing short-time working. I can understand the difficult economic situation for employers. When all income suddenly disappears, it's a matter of survival. The temptation to lay off older employees is great because they are the most expensive in the team anyway. I heard it said that some of them are relatively close to retirement. Older employees receive a bridging pension and anyway, they are surely happy...

Sure, young employees may have a family to support. If both husband and wife work, it may just about work. But with the financial burden of rent, health insurance, daycare costs, etc., young families are being challenged like never before. Nevertheless, I very much regret it when companies have to lay off older employees, who have often been working for the company for many years. I can only hope that useful platforms such as Seniors@Work will help to find a good future and interesting work for people in their mid-50s, even after the Corona crisis.

Arrogance, egoism and a lack of appreciation are not the attitude to take in times like these. We must stand together in order to be able to deal with the drastic regulations and measures after the end of the lockdown. The processing process and the reconstruction of the economy will certainly require older people, experienced people and experts in the jobs. So, dear reader: hang in there and stay healthy!

Beatrice Isler