If the Diamond Princess cruise ship moored in Yokohama is excluded, Switzerland makes the top 10 nations most affected by the coronavirus. By the afternoon of 9 March 2020 there were 380 recorded cases of infection in Switzerland, 3 of which had recovered and 2 of which had died. When countries are ranked based on […]
Coronavirus: second death in Switzerland
Today, cantonal authorities in Basel-Landschaft announced that a patient had died from the Covid-19 virus in the cantonal hospital in Liestal, according to RTS. The victim was a 76 year old man suffering from heart disease. The first person to die from the virus in Switzerland died on the night of the 4th and 5th […]
Becoming Swiss: municipalities with high and low naturalisation rates
When it comes to gaining Swiss citizenship, where you live matters. Some municipalities have high rates of naturalisation while some have not granted citizenship to a single person since 1992. A recently published study by researchers at Geneva University (UNIGE) looks at naturalisation rates by municipality between 1992 and 2017. The municipalities of Rueyres (VD), […]
Coronavirus: look for fever and cough, not runny nose, says WHO expert
Dr Bruce Aylward, the Assistant Director-General of the World Health Organization, and leader of the WHO team that visited Wuhan in China offers advice on containing the coronavirus in the interview below by the UK’s Channel 4 News. According to Aylward, one of the most important elements of a successful fight against the virus is […]
FILM: DE GAULLE
6 March 2020. DE GAULLE *** (vo French) Proud, arrogant, prickly, difficult, and authoritarian with a dictatorial streak. These are the words that tend to come to mind when we think of General de Gaulle. And indeed he could be all of those things. Ask the world leaders he came up against. Ask the French […]
Coronavirus: first death in Switzerland
The first person to die from the Covid-19 virus in Switzerland died on the night of the 4th and 5th of March 2020 in the canton of Vaud after being admitted to the CHUV hospital in Lausanne on 3 March 2020. The victim was a 74 year old woman, according to a federal government press […]
Swiss coronavirus tests now partly covered by health insurance
Yesterday, the Swiss government announced that diagnostic tests for the novel coronavirus (novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2) will be covered by compulsory Swiss health insurance up to a maximum of CHF 180 from 4 March 2020. Until this announcement it was unclear who would pay for the tests. Now the cost will be borne by health insurance […]
Swiss government files criminal complaint after crypto spying allegations
Last week, Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), filed a criminal complaint over the alleged use of Crypto AG, a Swiss company, to engage in spying activities, according to the newspaper SonntagsZeitung. The complaint, which implicates America’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and West German intelligence (BND), was filed with Switzerland’s federal public prosecutor last […]
Swiss health authority adds avoiding handshakes to coronavirus advice
In response to the increased spread of the novel Coronavirus Switzerland’s health authority has issued new hygiene advice, which includes avoiding hand shakes. This additional measure was added recently along with two others: dispose of used paper tissues in a sealed waste bin and always call ahead before going to the doctor’s or the emergency […]
Some in Basel defy Swiss government ban on gatherings
Hundreds of people defied a federal government ban on gatherings in Basel, according to RTS. The Basel Fasnacht, a highlight of the city’s calendar, was cancelled after Switzerland’s federal government banned gatherings of more than 1,000 people in an attempt to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. However, the cancellation did not stop everyone. […]
