The coronavirus could cost Switzerland CHF 40 billion by the end of 2020, according to the Federal Council. On 11 June 2020, the Council of States, Switzerland’s upper house followed parliament in approving to extend the coronavirus budget by CHF 14.9 billion. The sum includes money to fund a hole in the unemployment benefits system […]
Coronavirus: new cases stable with small rise in deaths in Switzerland
In the seven days to 12 June 2020, the number of new SARS-CoV-2 infections recorded in Switzerland was 127. A similar number of new cases was recorded in the week before (108) and the week before that (121), according to Worldinfometer.com. However, the number of deaths was up slightly when comparing the recent week (17) […]
Swiss economy shrinks in first quarter of 2020
Switzerland’s GDP fell by –2.6 % in the 1st quarter of 2020, after rising by +0.3% in the previous quarter, according to a government press release. Due to the coronavirus pandemic and the measures to contain it, economic activity in March was severely restricted, said the statement. A global slowdown also affected exports. The service […]
Swiss have mixed feelings about working from home, according to survey
Working from home is a mixed bag of pros and cons for most Swiss who were surveyed by gfs.bern in March and April 2020. But it worked for most. In 2019, before the outbreak of the corona pandemic, around 1.1 million employees in Switzerland occasionally worked from home. During the pandemic the number of hours […]
Swiss employer must pay employee’s rent, rules court
Switzerland’s highest court recently decided that an employee asked to work at home can claim a part of their rent from their employer, according to the newspaper 20 Minutes. An employee of a financial firm in Zurich, who got into a disagreement with their employer over the reimbursement of some of their rent, took their […]
40% of Swiss restaurants unsure of survival under current restrictions
40% of restaurants that have reopened in Switzerland fear they won’t survive, according to a recent industry survey by Gastro Suisse. When Switzerland’s federal government allowed restaurants to reopen on 11 May 2020 around three quarters did. Many of those that didn’t, decided they wouldn’t be able to turn a profit operating with the required […]
Coronavirus: Switzerland plans to lift all restrictions on Schengen movement
Switzerland’s Federal Council plans to lift all travel restrictions and re-establish free movement of persons across the Schengen area no later than 6 July 2020 and possibly as early as mid June, it announced today. If the epidemiological evolution allows, restrictions on entering, working and living in Switzerland will be lifted for all Schengen states […]
Coronavirus: extensive easing of restrictions from 6 June in Switzerland
From 6 June 2020, measures put in place to fight the spread of SARS-CoV-2 will be extensively eased, according to Switzerland’s government. The number of new cases of infection has remained low for a number of weeks now, as has the number of hospital admissions and deaths, said a press statement. From 30 May 2020, […]
Swisscom network experiencing problems
Since 11:50 am on 26 May 2020, Swisscom’s mobile and landline networks have been experiencing problems. Landline and mobile network calls are currently impaired for business and private customers, according to Swisscom. The company said its specialists are working on rectifying a fault that started at 11:50am on 26 May 2020. According the Swiss government […]
Swiss central bank could take negative rates lower
The rate on deposits at the Swiss National Bank (SNB) is currently -0.75%. And while taking the rate further into negative territory is not the base case scenario, it cannot be excluded, according to some economists at the bank UBS. The probability that the SNB lowers rates further is not a base scenario, according to […]
