This week, the association of public teachers for the French- and Italian-speaking regions of Switzerland (CIIP) published its guidelines for reducing the spread of Covid-19 when schools reopen. The cantons followed with their new rules. Staff and teachers at all levels of school will continue to wear masks in situations where they are less than […]
Coronavirus: Swiss health authority adds pregnant women to risk list
After a number of recent studies that suggest pregnant women are exposed to higher risks from the SARS-CoV-2 virus, Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) adds them to the list people vulnerable to Covid-19. The FOPH reached its recent conclusion based on discussions with the Swiss society of gynaecology and obstetrics. The society sets […]
Summer camps – post lockdown learning and adventure in the Swiss Alps
Brought to you by Aiglon College. 2020 has been a tough year so far for both parents and their children. Swiss schools were closed in mid-March and children were sent home to be supervised by parents, many of whom had to juggle this new activity with an already hectic schedule. Some now fear this missed […]
Coronavirus: percentage of Swiss expecting a resurgence drops sharply
A poll by Sotomo run in June 2020 on behalf of RTS suggests 26% of the Swiss public expect a resurgence of Covid-19 cases. When the survey was run in May 2020, 51% of those questioned expected the number of SARS-CoV-2 infections in Switzerland to grow – 14% expected a strong increase and 37% expected […]
Coronavirus: national lockdown not part of Switzerland’s second wave response plan
Switzerland’s federal government is against imposing nationwide restrictions to slow the spread of a second wave on infections, according to the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper. The federal government plan, which is under development, is more regional than the response to the first wave of infections and focuses decision making power at the cantonal level, reported […]
Swiss parliament decides lesbians should have access to sperm
On 11 June 2020, Switzerland’s parliament voted in favour of gay marriage and allowing lesbian couples to have access to sperm donations. 132 parliamentarians voted in favour of the proposal with 52 voting against it. All of Switzerland’s main political parties voted in favour of allowing lesbians access to sperm with the exception of the […]
Children soon allowed to cycle with pedestrians in Switzerland
Switzerland’s government recently announced that children up to 12 will be allowed to cycle on footpaths from 1 January 2021. The new rules will allow all young children to ride on footpaths when there is no cycle lane. Currently, only first grade primary school children can cycle on sidewalks in Switzerland. The government said that […]
Close to 1,000 people gather for a football match in Lausanne, despite crowd ban
Close to 1,000 young people assembled to watch a football match on Thursday evening in Boveresses, a northern suburb of Lausanne, in defiance of Switzerland’s ban on gatherings of more than five people, according to RTS. The group, aged mainly between 16 and 20, were there to watch a match between teams from the cities […]
Geneva regularises nearly 2,400 illegal immigrants
In 2017, the canton of Geneva launched a programme called Operation Papyrus to issue residence permits to undocumented foreigners living in the canton. Not all undocumented foreigners qualified for the scheme. Only those able to prove ten years of residence, if they had no children, or five years of residence if they had children, were […]
Canton of Valais wants to make school skiing compulsory
For school pupils in canton Valais, skiing could soon be part of the curriculum under plans to create three obligatory snow sports days a year, the NZZ am Sonntag reports. Christophe Darbellay, the canton’s education minister, wants to get young people back on skis to ensure the future of the sport, which generated CHF 758 million […]
