Compared to much of the world, confidence in the safety of vaccines is low in Switzerland, according to a recently published study. In 2015, only 30% of Swiss questioned strongly agreed that vaccines were safe, ranking it 133rd out of 149 nations in terms of confidence in vaccine safety. This compared to 89% in Argentina […]
Referendum: Swiss to vote on buying new fighter jets
Swiss voters are asked to vote on a wide range of matters. On the 27 of September 2020, one of the questions voters face is whether the federal government should spend CHF 6 billion buying a new fleet of military jets. Switzerland is a neutral nation with a military dedicated to self defence that uses […]
New overnight trains planned between Switzerland and Amsterdam, Rome and Barcelona
Swiss Rail and ÖBB, the federal train operator in Austria, announced plans this week to join forces to launch new overnight train links. The planned services will include overnight trains between Zurich and Amsterdam, Rome and Barcelona. Demand for such services is on the rise, partly driven by climate change concerns. Taking a train to […]
Coronavirus: Switzerland’s intensive care mortality rates low by global standards
Doctors at Lausanne’s CHUV hospital and Geneva’s HUG hospital, which treated the majority of Covid-19 patients in French-speaking Switzerland, have admitted around 270 patients to intensive care (ICU) since March 2020, according to RTS. Around 96% of these ICU patients were intubated and around 80% survived, a mortality rate of roughly 20%. ICU mortality rates […]
Swiss offers staff choice between pay cuts or job cuts
Swiss, Switzerland’s flag airline, which is part of the Lufthansa group, has asked employees to accept a 15% pay cut. If they reject this offer the airline has said 1,425 jobs will be at risk, 15% of the workforce, according to a report by the newspaper Sonntags Zeitung. “Our goal is to get through the […]
Coronavirus: weekly cases up 12% in Switzerland
In the week to 18 September 2020, the reported number of new SARS-CoV-2 infections recorded in Switzerland was 3,044, 12% higher than the 2,707 cases recorded the week before. The total number of recorded cases stood at 49,283 by 18 September 2020. The 7-day rolling average number of daily new cases this week was 435, up from […]
Chlorothalonil in Zurich’s groundwater above the limit in 60 percent of samples
The banned substance chlorothalonil, which is in some pesticides, has been found to be above the limit in 60% of ground water samples taken across the canton of Zurich over the last 12 months, reported SRF. Ground water is different to drinking water. Only 20% of drinking water samples taken across the canton had chlorothalonil […]
Coronavirus: antimask protests in Geneva
On Saturday, around 1,000 people assembled at the Place des Nations across the road from the United Nations in Geneva to protest against masks and vaccinations. Many of the protestors expressed opposition to rules requiring them to wear masks in certain situations, something viewed by some as an attack on civil liberties and individual rights. […]
Coronavirus: Vaud to close nightclubs and ban events as cases rise
From 3pm on 17 September 2020, new restrictions will come into force in the Swiss canton of Vaud, which has become Switzerland’s latest SARS-CoV-2 hotspot. Over the last 14 days, the infection rate in the canton was 197 per 100,000, far above the 60 per 100,000 that qualifies a region to be added to Switzerland’s […]
Switzerland adds parts of France to its compulsory quarantine list
On 11 September 2020, Switzerland’s authorities announced they were adding regions of France and Vienna in Austria to the nation’s compulsory quarantine list along with the Czech Republic, Canary Islands and British Virgin Islands from 14 September 2020. From 14 September 2020, people entering Switzerland from these regions must now quarantine for 10 days. The […]
