Switzerland Today
Greetings from Lausanne!
Fancy a bite to eat in a restaurant? How about a swim at the indoor pool or a visit to a new exhibition? From today, you’ll need to show a Covid certificate and an ID card to do so in these and other indoor public spaces. This new temporary rule, aimed at curbing new infections and boosting the vaccination rate, is transforming daily habits. Swiss parliamentarians may even have to follow suit.
In the news: The UN is hosting a high-level donor conference in Geneva to raise $606 million (CHF559 million) for Afghanistan.
- “After decades of war, suffering and insecurity, Afghans face perhaps their most perilous hour,” warnedExternal linkUnited Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis told the conference that “urgent needs demand a speedy humanitarian intervention”.
- Three more Swiss universities – ETH Zurich, St Gallen and Geneva – have announced that they will be requiring Covid certificatesfor on-site lectures when they re-open after the summer break in a week’s time.
- The new barracks of the Vatican Swiss Guard, who protect the pope in Rome, will be designed to accommodate female guards even though they are not yet allowed, a Swiss newspaper reportsExternal link.
- This year’s top Swiss science prizes have gone to a psychologist for his contribution to Internet-based therapy and to a cancer researcher for his discoveries about tumor cells.
Swiss parliament’s three-week autumn session opens today in Bern at the House of Representatives and the Senate.
They have a packed agenda ahead of them. Discussions in the first weekExternal link will focus on resolving differences over reforms to the old-age pension scheme. Special attention will also be given to an initiative calling for a ban on weapons’ exports, the UN Migration Pact, renewable energies and the federal budget.
During the rest of the session, they will discuss the revised tobacco law and decide whether to release the blocked EU cohesion funds to help ease relations with Brussels. Finally, there is the long-awaited formal appointment of Switzerland’s new attorney general to replace Michael Lauber. Stefan Blättler, the current head of Bern’s cantonal police, has been proposed by parliament’s judicial commission.
However, as the session opens, talk has been dominated by whether politicians should present a Covid certificate to access the chambers. They can currently do so without having to show proof of vaccination, recovery or a recent negative test result. Parliament’s administrative delegation took this decision last week. But there have reportedlyExternal link been discussions and pressure for them to do a U-turn to show that Swiss Covid certificate rules are the same for everyone.
There have been mixed reactions in Switzerland to the wider use of the Covid certificate for proof of vaccination, recovery or a recent negative test result.
If you want to have a drink in a bar, go for a swim indoors or go to a museum, from today you’ll need to show a Covid certificate and ID card. The controversial measure, aimed at curbing new infections, reducing the pressure on hospitals and boosting the vaccination rate, came into force on Monday and runs until the end of January 2022. Anyone who breaks the law could be fined CHF100.
The need to show your QR code and ID card to get a coffee, watch a film or pump iron got a mixed welcomeExternal link today.
While some non-vaccinated people have rushed to get jabsExternal link following the government decision, others are resistingExternal link. Some 200,000 people have reportedly signed an online petition calling for free Covid tests in Switzerland. Officially, Covid antigen tests for asymptomatic people must now be paid for from October 1.
Some 1,500 people demonstrated against the introduction of the Covid certificate in Lucerne on Saturday. Meanwhile, Swiss Finance Minister Ueli Maurer was spotted at a Swiss People’s Party event on Sunday in Wald, canton Zurich, sporting a T-shirt with the “Freiheitstrychler” name and motif – a cow bell group who regularly protest against the government’s Covid prevention measures.
In a separate article, sociologist Marko Kovic told 20MinutenExternal link that he felt Covid protests were becoming more radical.
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