Last week, negotiations between Switzerland and the EU ended after failure to find agreement on key elements of a deal governing the relationship between Switzerland and the bloc. Over the weekend, Switzerland’s president Guy Parmelin defended the abrupt break in negotiations and sent a clear message to EU strategists in Brussels. Speaking to the newspaper […]
Swiss government adopts Covid certificate ordinance and announces launch date
On 4 June 2021, Switzerland’s Federal Council adopted an ordinance on Covid-19 certificates, which forms the legal basis for issuing the certificates in both forgery proof paper and electronic formats. The ordinance will enter into force on 7 June 2021 and provide the legal basis for issuing the certificates. The certificates are aimed mainly at […]
Foreigners in Switzerland might gain access to welfare after 10 years of residence
In Switzerland, accessing welfare can put foreigners’ residence permits at risk. A recent parliamentary initiative may change this for some. Practice on who qualifies for welfare varies from canton to canton and the subject is somewhat of a minefield. There are often rules around family members helping before state welfare kicks in and also rules […]
Swiss government to take aim at drivers of noisy vehicles
This week, Switzerland’s upper house followed parliament in voting in favour more severe sanctions for drivers of noisy vehicles. On 1 June 2021, the Council of States, Switzerland’s upper house voted 37 to 7 in support of stiffer penalties for driving a noisy vehicle or motorcycle. The text demands measures against driving illegally modified vehicles. […]
Covid: new cases down 25% in Switzerland this week
This week, 4,269 new Covid-19 cases were recorded in Switzerland, down 25% from the week before (5,670), continuing a steep downward trend in new numbers of recorded infections. The daily number of cases on a 7-day rolling average is less than third of what it was 5 weeks ago. It has fallen from 1,924 to […]
Swiss study links youth obesity to body image misperceptions
A recently published Swiss study finds misperceptions of body image among young people that are associated with being overweight or obese. The study, which takes data on nearly 14,000 school children in Bern, Basel and Zurich, found that the percentage of children aged 12-15 suffering from excess weight and obesity was broadly stable over the […]
Coldest spring in Switzerland for 30 years
According to Meteo Swiss, spring this year was the coldest in 30 years. The mean May temperature across the country was 2.5 ° C below the 1981-2010 norm. Over the last 30 years, only 2019 and 2013 came close to having May temperatures as cold as they were in May 2021. When chilly May is […]
Covid: restrictions could end in August, says Swiss health minister
On 30 May 2021, Alain Berset, Switzerland’s health minister said in an interview on RTS that he thought a return to normality could be possible in August 2021 if vaccinations progress as hoped. On 31 May 2021, Switzerland entered the stabilisation phase, the second last stage of its return to normality. Restaurants began welcoming guests […]
Covid: how is Switzerland going on vaccinations?
On 23 December 2020, a 90-year old resident of Luzern, was the first person in Switzerland to be vaccinated against Covid-19. In the roughly 5 months since then, more than 3 million people in Switzerland have received at least one dose of vaccine, representing around 36% of the population. By 1 June 2021, 1.75 million […]
Covid: no Swiss quarantine if entering from Italy or Germany
On 2 June 2021, Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) announced that effective from 3 June 2021, all of Italy, Germany, Luxembourg, Cyprus, Croatia, Turkey and Iran would be removed from its list of risk countries. However, parts of France, including the regions of Centre-Val de Loire, Hauts-de-France, Île de France, Normandie and Pays […]
