Kosovars in Switzerland urged to get vaccinated

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu with Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis in Bern in March Keystone / Anthony Anex

The president of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu, has called on Kosovars in Switzerland to get vaccinated. Everyone must assume their responsibility in the pandemic, she said.

Speaking at the Swiss Economic Forum (SEF), which opened in Interlaken on Wednesday, Osmani-Sadriu said many Kosovars living in Switzerland had travelled to their homeland in the summer and had contracted Covid-19 there.

“We must all assume our responsibility in this coronavirus crisis. I call on all Kosovars in Switzerland and Kosovo to get vaccinated,” she said.

Around 200,000 people with Kosovar roots live in Switzerland.

On Tuesday newspaper Blick reportedExternal link that demand for repatriation flights for Swiss citizens with Covid-19 had been high in July and August – especially among dual nationals in North Macedonia and Kosovo. So far this month air rescue service REGA had flown to the Kosovan capital Pristina 21 times, the paper said.

“It comes as no surprise that Kosovo stands out as a hotspot,” Blick said. “The large Swiss diaspora couldn’t wait to visit their homeland this summer, mostly in jam-packed planes and buses. Kosovo also made the headlines […] because of the excessive and unrestrained partying.” Blick quoted a cantonal health director who said these repatriation flights were adding to the pressure in understaffed Swiss hospitals.

Osmani-Sadriu further stressed in her speech that EU accession remained a priority for Kosovo. Currently, accession is failing because Serbia does not recognise Kosovo as an independent state.

“It is possible to move on from the past,” she said. “We hope that in the future Serbia will elect a leadership that understands that Kosovo is a republic that will stay and wants to make an important contribution to peace in the region.”