Switzerland experiences only minor Y2K glitches

The first business day of the millennium opened with very few signs of Y2K computer glitches in Switzerland. The authorities say the largely problem-free rollover to 2000 was due to extensive preparations by businesses as well as the government.

The first business day of the millennium opened with very few signs of Y2K computer glitches in Switzerland, the authorities noted on Monday.

The federal authorities’ emergency command centre said the largely problem-free rollover of computer clocks from 1999 to 2000 was due to extensive preparations by businesses as well as the federal and cantonal authorities.

“Everything O.K.,” said a statement published on the centre’s “millenium” website. “Reasons for this success are the preparatory work and tests and the presence of the standby teams.”

Officials at the command centre said that the small Y2K glitches reported were fixed as soon as computers were started up earlier in the day. They conceded, though, that some minor problems might still surface in the coming days.

Switzerland dodged the much-dreaded computer bug successfully on January 1st and all major transport, telecommunications, power grid and financial command centres worked normally.

However, the experts have not yet given the “all clear” as some secondary systems and lower priority computer networks were switched off at the weekend.

From staff and wire reports.