Covid-19: Switzerland has not yet found the right balance, admits president
The sharp rise in Covid-19 infections in recent days shows that Switzerland has not yet found the right balance between deconfinement and caution, said Simonetta Sommaruga.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA/ac
In an interview published in the SonntagsBlick news outlet on Sunday, the politician said she has always sought the right compromise.
“We have a lot of freedom in the current situation. But the virus is still there,” Sommaruga said. This is why the governing Federal Council reacted by mandating the compulsory wearing of masks on public transport and compulsory quarantine for travellers coming from risk areas, she added. “We must remain cautious”.
According to her, it was also crucial that the Federal Council handled the crisis with discernment, was able to learn and was open to adjustments. She stated that, on the whole, Switzerland has done a lot of things right during the crisis.
Criticism
The president admitted that the requirement to wear a mask could have been introduced earlier. “But we wanted to see how the situation would develop and we intervened where necessary.”
On the other hand, Sommaruga rejected criticism from scientists that Switzerland had lifted the Covid-19 restrictions too quickly. Many of them are still in force, such as, for example, for major events, she pointed out.
If these rules are not respected, the cantons must take action, she insisted.
“We have deconfined ourselves. But that doesn’t mean that everyone can do what they want now. Precautionary measures continue to apply, supplemented by the compulsory wearing of masks and quarantine”.
More
More
Rise in new corona cases sparks concern in Switzerland
This content was published on
Swiss officials have expressed concern over the slow increase in coronavirus infections in Switzerland over the past few weeks.
University students in Switzerland join Gaza protest wave
This content was published on
Pro-Palestinian activists occupied university buildings in Lausanne, Geneva and Zurich on Tuesday, widening the protest movement in the Alpine nation.
TradeXBank to resume full operations after Sberbank Switzerland taken off sanctions list
This content was published on
TradeXBank, the former Swiss branch of Russia’s Sberbank, will be able to resume its dollar-denominated activities from the second half of this year.
Geneva decides not to remove controversial memorials
This content was published on
The city of Geneva has presented an action plan regarding a series of controversial local statues and monuments of historical figures linked to racism, colonialism or slavery.
University of Lausanne calls for end to pro-Palestine sit-in
This content was published on
The pro-Palestinian occupation continues at the University of Lausanne (UNIL). On Monday evening, a group of students refused to agree to the deadline set by the rectorate.
Ukraine peace conference should include Russia, says Chinese ambassador
This content was published on
China supports a peace conference on the Ukraine war that would see equal participation of all parties, says Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui.
This content was published on
A majority of Swiss citizens have open attitudes towards various infertility treatments, including even egg donation, which is currently prohibited.
Reports of Swiss cyber fraud almost doubled in six months
This content was published on
The head of the new Federal Office for Cybersecurity (FOC), Florian Schütz, has presented a new strategy after just over four months in office.
Switzerland publishes list of ‘high risk’ travel quarantine countries
This content was published on
The Federal Office of Public Health published the listExternal link on Thursday as part of new measures taken by the Swiss authorities to prevent a second wave of the pandemic. After flattening the peak in March, infection rates have been creeping up over the past two weeks, sometimes rising to above 100 on certain days.…
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.