On 11 August 2021, at the federal government’s weekly briefing on Covid-19, Swiss health minister Alain Berset said that the government accepts that the numbers will increase, while explaining that no changes would be made to the current measures.
Remaining restrictions in Switzerland include wearing masks in public transport and in some indoor areas, a requirement to present a valid Covid certificate to enter major events, limitations on the numbers gathering privately: 30 people inside and 50 people outside, and an indoor event cap of 250 people.
The position of the Federal government appears to be shifting away from protecting the unvaccinated towards avoiding hospital overload. Its position is that those willing to be vaccinated have been able to.
Vaccination is voluntary. However, the Federal Council is encouraging people to get the shots because it believes the possible consequences of infection are far worse than the possible side effects of vaccination. Those who do not get vaccinated must accept being infected, according to the Federal Council, which has decided that it will now focus primarily on the burden on the health system, accepting that the numbers will increase.
When questioned by SRF on whether this meant there would be more infections and deaths among the unvaccinated, Alain Berset said: yes. We don’t want any more major restrictions because everyone has the opportunity to get vaccinated.
On 12 August 2021, 2,125 new cases were reported in Switzerland, along with 41 new hospitalisations and 3 additional deaths. Currently, 50% of Switzerland’s population has been fully vaccinated.
More on this:
SRF interview (in German)
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