Swiss plans to tighten national Covid rules : Last 24 hours, with 22 deaths and 138 Covid patients hospitalised.
The government is planning to tighten anti-coronavirus measures across Switzerland, saying that while little is yet known about the new Omicron Covid variant it does not wish to lose time against this new threat.
A series of measures have been put forward for consultation with the cantons, it announcedExternal link after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. These include: extension of the obligation to show a Covid certificate, which indicates whether the holder is fully vaccinated, recovered from Covid or tested negative; extension of mask-wearing obligations; and either a recommendation or obligation to work from home for those who have neither been vaccinated nor recovered.
The consultation will last until the evening of Wednesday December 1. It is unclear when they might come into force. The new measures are proposed to last until January 24, Health Minister Alain Berset told a press conference in Bern.
Both he and Guy Parmelin, who holds the rotating Swiss presidency this year, stressed that getting vaccinated was still the fundamental element to fight the virus. Around 65% of the population are vaccinated. They also urged citizens to continue with existing health measures such as mask wearing, hand washing and opening windows to air indoor spaces. The validity of the Covid certificate could also be reduced, depending on test results.
Parmelin said it was the government’s duty to “protect the whole population” in view of the new situation. Berset told the press conference the proposed measures were much less harsh than last winter and were known to be effective. The aim, he said was to prevent a winter of business closures and overburdened hospitals.
The coronavirus situation in Switzerland has worsened in the past few weeks as the vaccination rate stagnates and the cold weather brings more people indoors. On Tuesday, the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) reported 8,422 new cases in the last 24 hours, with 22 more deaths and 138 Covid patients hospitalised.