Health minister raises prospect of easing Covid restrictions ‘in a few weeks’
If the Covid-19 pandemic develops favourably in Switzerland, Health Minister Alain Berset has mentioned the possibility of relaxing restrictions soon. However, the government’s main aim is to avoid another lockdown.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA/ts
Русский
ru
«Пока рано относиться к Ковид-19 как к простому гриппу»
“If things go well, further relaxations, such as the requirement to wear a mask, are possible in a few weeks,” Berset said in an interviewExternal link with the SonntagsZeitung and Le Matin Dimanche newspapers.
“But if the situation remains unclear, it would be stupid to lift the last mild restrictions recklessly. We’d then risk having to re-impose many harsher measures in autumn.”
Since the situation was still unclear, he said the transition to the normalisation phase was not foreseeable for the time being.
On Friday 1,162 new cases were reported to the Federal Office of Public Health. The seven-day average was 21% higher than the previous week.
More
More
Coronavirus: the situation in Switzerland
This content was published on
An overview of the latest Covid-related information in the Alpine nation.
“We have the more contagious Delta variant. And many people are returning from holidays, which increases the risk of infection in Switzerland,” he said. “Children will soon be back at school and could accelerate the spread. We’ll have to see how this affects the number of cases.”
No lockdown
Berset defended the “very few” restrictions still in place, such as the obligation to wear a mask on public transport or in shops and to show a Covid certificate at large events or in clubs.
What’s more, it was still too early to treat Covid-19 like the flu, he said. “This can only happen when the risk of hospitals being overburdened can be ruled out. And that’s unfortunately not the case at the moment.”
Should the situation worsen again, he said the government absolutely wanted to refrain from another lockdown. “One should never rule out anything in a crisis. But in Switzerland there should be no more closures. We’ll do everything we can to achieve this. I also believe we’re on the right track.”
He said he could imagine adapting the requirement to show a Covid certificate. For example, in places where a certificate is obligatory, personal data could also be collected for contact tracing, he suggested. “If there’s an outbreak at an event, we need [that data] to contact people. That’s not possible today.”
More
More
Coronavirus: Wealthy Switzerland is suffering from vaccine fatigue
This content was published on
Enough doses, but fewer people willing to get vaccinated – many rich countries like Switzerland are seeing a stagnation in vaccination rates.
Swiss money laundering office registers record number of reports
This content was published on
The Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland (MROS) registered a record number of reports of suspicious activity last year.
Two teens accused of planning terror attack released from custody
This content was published on
The Schaffhausen judiciary has released the two teenagers from custody who allegedly planned bomb attacks in Switzerland.
OECD: Sluggish economic activity slowing growth in Switzerland
This content was published on
Sluggish economic activity at the start of the year is weighing on growth in Switzerland, with GDP expected to fall to 1.1% in 2024.
Report finds mistakes which led to Swiss government data breach
This content was published on
Mistakes were made by both the government and internet company Xplain in the case of a criminal cyber-attack on the Bern-based IT business.
Swiss government wants better gender balance in federal administration
This content was published on
New Swiss government personnel management targets say there must be even more female managers in the federal administration.
Swiss national science foundation funded over 5,000 projects in 2023
This content was published on
In 2023, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) provided a total of CHF961 million worth of funding towards research projects.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
How the Swiss could reverse a dip in Covid vaccinations
This content was published on
Switzerland, like many countries, is struggling to maintain a momentum in vaccinating its population just as the Delta variant takes hold.
Reasons to get vaccinated differ with age, survey says
This content was published on
Older people who get vaccinated mainly want to protect their own health, while younger ones want to travel and protect others.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.