Over the seven days to 5 March 2021, Switzerland reported 7,358 new positive Covid-19 cases, 2.8% more than the week before, when cases rose by 1.5%. However, the Swiss National COVID-19 Science Task Force remains concerned. Case numbers can quickly rise, as they did in early October 2020. On 12 October 2020, there were around 1,200 […]
Swiss parliament demands cabinet reopen restaurants and theatres
A recent parliamentary vote on whether to issue a formal request to the Federal Council, Switzerland’s executive, to reopen restaurants on 22 March 2021, found a majority of 97 to 90, according to Le Matin. The main parties supporting the demand were the Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP) and the PLR (FDP). The Socialist and Green […]
Vote against Swiss Covid-19 law set for June 2021
Switzerland has several kinds of referendums. One, called and optional referendum, gives voters a chance to overturn laws created by the government. Calling an optional referendum requires 50,000 signatures, a hurdle comfortably cleared by the organisers of a referendum to overturn Switzerland’s Covid-19 law introduced on 26 September 2020. On 3 March 2021, Switzerland’s Federal […]
Covid vaccination in Switzerland – good if you are over 79
Some are getting frustrated by the slow pace of vaccination in Switzerland. Israel has now administered 96 doses per 100 and nearly 90% of those over 50 are fully vaccinated. By 28 February 2021, only 9 doses per 100 had been administered in Switzerland and only 3% population had been fully vaccinated. Rates far behind […]
Covid: steep rise in antibodies in Switzerland
Corona Immunitas, a nation-wide testing programme has been tracking the percentage of Switzerland’s population with antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus over time. Since the second wave of the pandemic, the percentage of the population with antibodies has more than doubled in many of the cantons covered by the study. A sharp rise in antibody rates […]
Covid: deaths in Switzerland now exceed 10,000
On 2 March 2021, Switzerland’s Covid death toll reached 10,0051, according to the Johns Hopkins coronavirus tracker. Over the weekend, Switzerland’s President Guy Parmelin invited the nation to pause for a minute’s silence at noon on Friday 5 March 2021 to remember the victims of the pandemic and their loved ones. The president has also […]
Covid: cases up slightly in Switzerland as reproduction rate goes above 1
Over the seven days to 26 February 2021, Switzerland reported 7,157 new positive Covid-19 cases, 1.5% more than the week before, ending an unbroken downward trend since early January 2021. The Swiss National COVID-19 Science Task Force remains concerned about the emergence of faster spreading strains. Currently 58% of infections are with potentially more problematic variants, up from […]
Low-income households had lower Covid-19 rates but suffered worse economically
The economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic was unequal, hitting low-income households far harder than those on high incomes, according to a study published by the KOF Swiss Economic Institute at ETH Zurich. Infection rates rise with incomeMore people in the higher income range reported being infected with Covid-19 than those in lower income groups. […]
Covid: 25% of Vaud residents have antibodies, according to study
A recent round of antibody testing suggests that a quarter of people living in the canton of Vaud have antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The antibody study run by Unisanté, which involves periodically testing a sample of the population, has been operating since May 2020. The latest results, which involved testing around 1,000 people over […]
Record fall in Swiss hotel occupancy in 2020
In 2020, the number of overnight stays in Swiss hotels fell by 40% to 23.7 million, a fall of 15.8 million nights compared to 2019. The fall, driven by Covid-19, is the largest fall in overnight stays in Switzerland since the end of the 1950s, according to Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office. Plummeting hotel stays were […]
