The Swiss government response to the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has drawn criticism from the Swiss Peoples Party (UDC/SVP). One party member has called for the scientific advisory group, known as the Swiss National COVID-19 Science Task Force, to be disbanded, according to the newspaper Blick.
The scientific advisory group supports the Federal Council, Switzerland’s executive, in its decisions related to the pandemic. However, recently, these scientific experts have become the target of a political dispute.
In addition to pressure from the UDC, it was suggested by a member of the Liberal Radical Party (PLR/FDP) that representatives of business associations be added to the advisory group, despite its function being to offer scientific advice. This suggestion was rejected but only by a small margin.
Then on Tuesday, a parliamentarian from the UDC demanded that the task force be disbanded, a proposal that failed to find a majority, according to SonntagsBlick. The parliamentarian, who comes from the hospitality sector, said the motivation was economic and that she had not seen any studies showing that restaurants were driving the pandemic.
More on this:
Blick article (in German)
For more stories like this on Switzerland follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
