In an interview on SRF, Switzerland’s broadcaster, Alain Berset, Switzerland’s minister of health, said that he didn’t question the science on masks enough at the beginning of the pandemic. On 29 January 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) advised that wearing medical masks when not indicated may cause unnecessary cost, procurement burden and create a […]
Covid: new cases down 12% in Switzerland this week
This week, 7,843 new Covid-19 cases were recorded in Switzerland, down 12% from the week before (8,897), continuing the downward trend of new numbers of recorded infections, which fell 16% over the prior week. The 7-day average is currently 1,120. Over the last 4 weeks, the 7-day rolling average case number has fallen by 894 […]
Only vaccinated to get Covid certificates before end June in Switzerland
Initially, in Switzerland, only those who have been vaccinated will get a Covid certificate. Those who have received a negative test result or have been infected and recovered will have to wait, according to a report in the TagesAnzeiger. This information was later confirmed by the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), according to RTS. […]
Nearly two thirds of Swiss support EU framework agreement, suggests poll
Switzerland and the EU have been working at failing to agree on a new agreement on Switzerland’s relationship with the EU for sometime now. One point of negotiating leverage used by Switzerland is that Swiss voters would reject the deal proposed by the EU in a referendum. However, a recent poll suggests that might not […]
Organic farming continues to gain ground in Switzerland
Switzerland continues to shift towards organic farming. Between 2000 and 2020, the number of organic farms has risen by 54%. In 2020, the number rose 3.8%. Organic farms now make up 15.3% of total farms in Switzerland, up from 6.9% 20 years ago. In 2000, there were 4,902 organic farms. By 2020, the number had […]
Covid: new cases continue to decline in Switzerland this week
This week, saw 8,897 new Covid-19 cases in Switzerland, down 16% from the week before (10,639), continuing the downward tend of new numbers of recorded infections, which fell 21% over the prior week. The 7-day average is currently 1,271. The last time it was this low was mid-March 2021. Covid deaths are declining too. This […]
40,000 hotel and restaurant jobs lost in Switzerland in 2020
Recent data show that Swiss hotels and restaurants shed 40,000 jobs in 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, with restaurants reliant on business travel hit the hardest, according to RTS. These figures do not include the effects of the pandemic beyond the end of 2020 and therefore exclude the impact of the pandemic […]
Italy drops quarantine requirement for Switzerland and rest of Europe
On 14 May 2021, Roberto Speranza, Italy’s minister of health, signed an ordinance removing the 5-day quarantine requirement for travellers arriving in Italy from the EU and Schengen zone, which includes Switzerland. The change, which also extends to travellers from the UK and Israel, will take effect from 16 May 2021. Travellers to Italy from […]
Swiss Covid-19 deaths 38% higher than official figure, reveals research
According to calculations by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), a global health research centre at the University of Washington, 14,040 people have likely died from Covid-19 in Switzerland rather than the 10,179 deaths officially recorded. That is 38% more. The total global Covid-19 death toll using IHME’s methodology is 7.3 million, a […]
Covid: vaccination of 12 to 15 year olds on the horizon in Switzerland
Those with teenagers wishing for the greater travel freedom likely to come with proof of vaccination may have cause for hope. On 7 May 2021, Pfizer submitted an authorisation application to Swissmedic, Switzerland’s drug approval agency, for use of its vaccine against Covid-19 on those aged 12 to 15 years old. The application asks for […]
