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 […]
Coronavirus: Swiss government confirms March reopening plan
On 24 February 2021, Switzerland’s Federal Council confirmed its earlier plan to allow shops, museums, library reading rooms, outdoor sports and leisure facilities, zoos and botanical gardens to reopen on 1 March 2021. In addition, outdoor events involving family and friends and sports and cultural activities involving up to 15 people will also be permitted […]
