Switzerland Today
Greetings from Bern,
Where many, after the government’s Covid announcement earlier today, might be heading for the nearest bar. This and other updates from Switzerland in Wednesday’s briefing.
In the news: it’s the end of Covid restrictions, almost.
- As of midnight tonight, almost all pandemic measures will be lifted, the government said today. This means the end of the Covid certificate rule in restaurants, sports facilities, theatres etc.; it also means the end of the obligation to wear masks in these places. The exception remains a mask rule in public transport and health facilities. This last step, as well as the “special” situation of government powers, will be lifted by April 1 if the health situation allows.
- The Swiss foreign ministry said it has “no definite information” about the whereabouts of two terror suspects who went missing after an attack by the Islamic State on a prison in Kurdish-controlled northern Syria. A third Swiss jihadist fighter is seemingly still accounted for in detention, public broadcaster SRF reported today. The foreign ministry said authorities had taken all possible measures to ensure that the men do not return to Switzerland undetected.
Covid: ‘back to normal’ might be easier for some than others.
And so, more than 700 years after their 1291 declaration of independence, the Swiss are finally free again, to shoot arrows, frolic in the meadows, and take their masks off. President Ignazio Cassis even (almost) smiled during today’s press conference. But some are less enthusiastic. Those with weakened immune systems or pre-existing illnesses, for example. “These fast and radical opening plans are a big shock,” a risk-group spokeswoman told the Tages-Anzeiger paper today (before the government decision had even been taken). Her group wants measures to help them, like specially-protected compartments in trains, or better networks to connect at-risk communities.
Physically healthy folk might have problems too, as Cassis hinted at when he called for “tolerance” and “respect” in the coming days. In an interview published on our German-language page today, psychoanalyst Carola Smolenski also says that while many are resilient and able to “re-orient themselves after a difficult situation”, others will find a return to normality difficult. She mentioned people who, consciously or unconsciously, “increasingly retreated from social contact during the pandemic”. Whether this was for health reasons, job reasons, or pre-existing anxieties, the return to full-on social life could cause them “special challenges.”
For Smolenski, a feeling of a “loss of control” was one of the major causes of psychological problems after the pandemic sent us scurrying indoors in the first place. Even in a politically stable and rich country like Switzerland, with a good health system, things can change very quickly, we’ve learned. Likewise, the abrupt change today – no more masks, no more certificates, no more press conferences by Health Minister Alain Berset – could also strain the nervous system. How can we best deal with it? Smolenski says being more aware of mental health, your own and that of others (particularly young people) is a good first step – as is talking about it. In the meantime, cheers…
Government branching out into sea and space.
With the end approaching of its special pandemic powers, the government is keen to compensate, and today it quietly revealed plans to conquer both the high seas and outer space. Indeed, not only does the landlocked country plan to develop a “maritime strategyExternal link”, it also wants an “updated space policyExternal link”! Why? For the latter at least, it’s not so clear, but the statement at least managed to make the universe sound boring: “the space sector is considered to be a growing sector with promising prospects for the future”. As for the other area of the atmosphere not yet mentioned – regular airspace – ambitions are thankfully more modest: the government said today it planned to sell offExternal link one of its three private ministerial jets, a Pilatus PC-24, “given that it doesn’t use it very much”.
Under-threat Gruyère cheese scores record 2021 sales
It seemed like tough times for Gruyère cheese a few weeks ago when an American court ruled that the brand should not enjoy protected status against copy-cat cheeses in the US. Gruyère representatives have appealed the decision, understandably dismayed about this threat to their business. Today however, the Keystone-SDA news agency reports that 2021 was a record year for (authentic) Gruyère sales, especially abroad – and including in the US, where exports rose to over 4,000 tonnes for the first time ever. Indeed, some deliveries even had to be cancelled due to the massive demand. “The market is simply thriving too much,” complained Gruyère spokesman Philippe Bardet. Never happy!
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