According to RTS, Guy Parmelin, Switzerland’s president since 1 January 2021, told the newspaper SonntagsBlick, that between July and September the government underestimated the pandemic. “We thought we could contain the virus but in reality we were far from doing so”, he said. Not only politicians but also many specialists were surprised by the sudden […]
Covid: Swiss production of Moderna vaccine to start
While Swissmedic, Switzerland’s drug authorising agency, has yet to approve Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, Swiss authorities have given Swiss-based Lonza Group a green light to start manufacturing the product at a plant in Switzerland, according to the SonntagsZeitung. Moderna’s mRNA vaccine was the second to be approved by regulators in the US after the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine […]
Covid: 9,665 new cases over 4 days in Switzerland
Over the 4 days to 4 January 2020, Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) reported 9,665 new cases and 189 deaths bringing Switzerland’s Covid-19 death toll to 7,831 (confirmed 7,271). On 4 January 2021, Switzerland’s 14-day infection rate was 540 per 100,000. Over the last 4 days, 63,665 tests were conducted with test positivity of 15%. The […]
Pandemic dents financial optimism for 2021 in Switzerland
18% of Swiss adults are convinced their financial situation will worsen in 2021, according to a survey. This percentage is markedly higher than at the end of 2019 when the same figure was 13%. The rise in pessimism is largely linked to job insecurity. 68% are concerned they will face full or partial unemployment, while […]
Covid: no additional restrictions in Switzerland
On 30 December 2020, Switzerland’s Federal Council meet to discuss the epidemiological situation in Switzerland, which it described as concerning. However, it decided to leave the restrictions at the current level set on 18 December 2020. In addition, it said that the latest (18 December 2020) reproduction rate was 0.86, a rate which suggests the […]
Covid: negative test to enter France from Switzerland only required if resident in France
On 19 December 2020, the French government advised against French residents travelling to Switzerland to ski and introduced rules that made returning difficult, including a requirement to show a negative Covid-19 test less than 72 hours old or to quarantine on arrival. The rule covered all those entering France from the cantons of Graubünden, Jura, […]
Covid: we were too optimistic after first wave, said Swiss health minister
In a broadcast on Swiss broadcaster SRF over the weekend, Alain Berset, Switzerland’s health minister said the government was too optimistic after the first wave. “We felt the worst was over, which was an error”, said the minister. In the broadcast, Berset talked of the high level of strain he felt during the first wave. […]
Covid: UK tourists break Covid quarantine in Verbier
Shortly after the UK announced it was struggling to contain a new faster spreading variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the Swiss government announced a backdated 10-day quarantine requirement for UK arrivals. This affected tourists from the UK already in the winter resort of Verbier. Some media, including the BBC, reported that 420 UK tourists, some […]
Covid: first person vaccinated in Switzerland
On Wednesday, a 90-year old resident of an old age home in Luzern, Switzerland, was vaccinated against Covid-19. She was the first person to be vaccinated against the disease in Switzerland. Older vulnerable people in four other Swiss cantons have been vaccinated since. 107,000 doses of the Pfizer/Biontech vaccine arrived in Switzerland on Tuesday and […]
Flights resume between UK and Switzerland with restrictions
From Thursday 24 December 2020, residents of the UK and South Africa currently in Switzerland are allowed to fly home from Switzerland. Those currently in either of these two countries who reside in Switzerland will also be able to fly home, announced Switzerland’s Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA). Flights between Switzerland and these two […]
