Last weekend, several thousand protestors assembled outside the Federal Palace in Bern to voice their opposition to Switzerland’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, reported Tribune de Genève. The protest is likely to be the last one authorised in the city ahead of a vote on 28 November 2021 to reverse laws introduced by the Swiss […]
Swiss government deficit for 2021 revised down
The latest forecast for 2021 shows a deficit of CHF 14.8 billion, down CHF 2.6 billion from an earlier forecast shortfall of CHF 17.4 billion. The deficit is driven mainly by the extraordinary cost of responding to the Covid-19 pandemic. The federal government expects to spend CHF 4.1 billion on vaccines (1.2) and tests (2.5) […]
Swiss life expectancy drops sharply in 2020
Recently published figures show the largest fall in male life expectancy in Switzerland since 1944 and the largest since 1962 for women. In 2020, a year marked by Covid-19, life expectancy at birth fell to 81.0 for men and 85.1 for women, a decline of 0.9 and 0.5 years respectively compared with 2019. Such a […]
Switzerland wants to make it easier for some foreign students to stay
On 27 October 2021, the Federal Council put forward a plan to change the rules around foreign students working in Switzerland upon completing study at a Swiss university. The proposed rules would allow those graduating from Swiss universities with masters or doctorates in fields with a shortage of workers to work in Switzerland more easily. […]
Switzerland hatches plan to use roads and railways to produce electricity
On 27 October 2021, the Swiss government adopted a report setting out how Swiss motorways and railway lines could be used to generate more than 100 GWh of electricity a year. Calculations in the report show that solar panels placed on noise reduction barriers running along the edges of motorways and railway lines in Switzerland […]
Swiss government moves closer to legalising cannabis
This week, a Council of States commission accepted a plan to regulate the cannabis trade in Switzerland, reported 20 Minutes. This decision by the public health commission follows an earlier one by a parliamentary commission looking at the same question. The way is now clear for parliament to create a new law that lifts the […]
Covid: more contagious Delta Plus variant detected in Switzerland
A sub-variant of the Delta variant, often referred to as Delta Plus was detected in Switzerland for the first time in September 2021, announced the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) this week, reported Le Matin. Detected for the first time in India over spring, the AY4.2 variant or Delta Plus variant is thought to […]
Covid: Switzerland approves third vaccine doses
Since the beginning of September 2021, around 30% of the people dying of Covid-19 in Switzerland have been fully vaccinated. Vaccination against the disease in Switzerland started in December 2020 and some of those dying were among the first to be vaccinated. A man interviewed by the Sonntagszeitung is convinced his mother, who was among […]
Swiss clocks go back one hour this Sunday
Early on Sunday 31 October 2021 Swiss clocks turn back one hour. Officially they are adjusted at 3am. The rest of Europe will adjust its clocks at the same time. This means one hour longer in bed and more light when you get up. On the down side, it will be darker in the evenings. […]
Covid: new cases up 27% this week in Switzerland as winter approaches
This week, 7,818 new cases of Covid-19 were reported in Switzerland, up 27% from the 6,174 recorded the week before. On a 7-day moving average basis, the number of daily new cases (1,117) is back above 1,000 a day. The number entering hospital with Covid-19 is stable. Over the last 7 days, 101 Covid-19 patients were admitted to […]
