The youth chapter of the PLR (FDP) has successfully collected enough signatures for an initiative to raise the official retirement age in Switzerland to 66 years old, reported RTS. On 16 July 2021, initiative organisers submitted 145,000 voter signatures as part of the formal process of launching a referendum in Switzerland. Under referendum rules a […]
New call for compulsory military service for Swiss women
This week, the Swiss Officers’ Society, a military association, announced that it was in favour of extending compulsory military service to both men and women, according to 20 Minutes. The association submitted a report, which included the recommendation to include compulsory service to women to Viola Amherd, Switzerland’s minister in charge of defense. Society president […]
Covid: call for unvaccinated to pay own hospital costs
Swiss parliamentarian Kurt Fluri (PLR/FDP) has suggested that those failing to get vaccinated who end up in hospital with Covid-19 be required to pay for the costs of their care out of their own pockets, according to the newspaper Le Matin. On 21 July 2021, Fluri put forward the suggestion via Switzerland’s German-speaking press as […]
Pressure mounts to end Switzerland’s free Covid tests
As queues become a more common sight outside Swiss night clubs, political pressure is mounting to end free Covid-19 tests that can allow the unvaccinated and unrecovered to enter clubs, according to 20 Minutes. Some politicians would like to see an end to taxpayer-funded raid antigen tests, which cost around CHF 50 a time. In […]
Antigen test option may be removed from Swiss Covid certificate
Experts from the Swiss National Covid-19 Science Task Force are concerned by the recent rise in Covid-19 cases in Switzerland and are looking for ways to improve the reliability of the Swiss Covid certificate. One option would be to remove the negative test option, reported Le Matin. In Switzerland, there are three ways to get […]
Switzerland to shift from cold heavy rain to warm sun
Switzerland has not had as much rain as it has received over the last few weeks for 70 years, according to analysis by RTS. Between 21 June and 13 July 2021, more rain has fallen on Switzerland than during the same period for 70 years. In Geneva there has been more rain during early summer […]
Switzerland to spend 6 million encouraging the fearful and indifferent to get vaccinated
As the number of unvaccinated people turning up for a shot dwindles and vaccination centres close, Switzerland’s federal government is launching a promotional effort to encourage those indifferent to or afraid of jabs to come forward and get vaccinated against Covid-19. Switzerland’s vaccination programme has almost ground to a halt. The percentage of the population […]
Swiss anti-Covid certificate referendum gets record number of signatures
Launching a vote to repeal a Swiss law requires 50,000 voter signatures be collected within 100 days. A group opposed to a Swiss law allowing the issuance of voluntary Covid certificates gathered more than 187,000 signatures in 4 weeks, setting a new record, according to 20 Minutes. Collecting as many as 187,433 signatures in the […]
Switzerland locked out of EU research project
On 14 July 2021, Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation reported that it had been told by the European Commission that Switzerland will be treated as a non-associated third country in the EU’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme. This means that Switzerland can only participate in limited ways. It can put forward […]
Covid: Swiss cases nearly double this week as vaccination stalls
This week, 3,033 new Covid-19 cases were recorded in Switzerland, nearly double (+89%) the number the week before (1,609). The daily number of cases on a 7-day rolling average was 433. The faster spreading Delta variant made up 83% of all samples sequenced in Switzerland on 5 July 2021. The number of Covid-19 hospitalisations and deaths in […]
