Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

HEALTH

Coronavirus: 56,000 turned away from Swiss border due to lockdown

Approximately 56,000 people have been turned away from crossing the Swiss border since it was closed due to the country’s coronavirus lockdown, while 150 fines have been issued for breaching restrictions.

Published: 26 April 2020 14:15 CEST

Coronavirus: 56,000 turned away from Swiss border due to lockdown

Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP

Switzerland closed its borders on March 25th, with only residents, citizens and cross-border workers allowed in.

Switzerland extends border restrictions to all Schengen states

The number of open border crossings was also significantly limited.

Police confirmed that 150 fines of CHF100 had been issued to people who had breached border lockdown restrictions.

In addition to fines for crossing the borders at unauthorised points, police said that people had been fined for crossing the border in order to go shopping.

Cross-border shopping in Switzerland was banned on April 16th. For those possessing the right permits, crossing the border for tourism or for leisure is not prohibited but has been strongly discouraged by the authorities.

Coronavirus: Switzerland prohibits cross-border shopping

Border traffic has been seen as one of the major reasons for Switzerland’s high number of coronavirus infections.

The southern canton of Ticino, which borders northern Italy, has the highest death rate of any Swiss canton – while the western cantons of Vaud and Geneva have also heavily been heavily hits.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.

Become a Member to leave a comment.

Could glasses and contact lenses soon be covered by Swiss health insurance?

Green Party Federal Councillor Katharina Prelicz-Huber revealed in an interview with newspaper 20 Minuten this week that the Federal Parliament had tabled a motion to include prescription glasses and contact lenses in Switzerland’s mandatory health insurance scheme.

Prelicz-Huber stated: “The purpose of compulsory health insurance is to provide the services you need to get or stay healthy,”

The motion forms part of the legislation that will be voted on during the 2024 summer session of the Federal Council.

Proposed changes

According to Switzerland’s peak optician body, 4 in 5 Swiss wear glasses or contact lenses at some point.

It’s no surprise that statistics repository, Statista, projects the Swiss eyewear industry to be worth €1.37 billion by 2028.

Currently, glasses and contact lenses are covered for up to 180 francs for children until age eighteen, if they are proscribed by a doctor.

Adults can also claim money back for glasses and contact lenses – however, they must be suffering from one of a short list of specific conditions such as keratoconus – where the cornea is distorted – or severe myopia, otherwise known as near-sightedness.

They must also have been specifically prescribed them by a doctor or optometrist.

Otherwise, supplemental optical insurance must be purchased in Switzerland to ensure you can recoup the cost.

Under the Green Party proposal, glasses, contact lenses, and other visual aids would be covered, regardless of age.

Rising premiums prompt opposition

Not everybody agrees with the proposal.

The right-wing SVP has already spoken out against it, with Federal Councillor Diana Gutjahr arguing: “If we seriously want to slow down the burdensome and constantly rising health costs for the benefit of the population, we [must] show the political will not to constantly expand the benefits of compulsory health insurance.”

A spokesman for the the health insurance advocacy group Santesuisse, Matthias Müller, echoed Gutjahr, claiming that insurance constitutes “financing for extraordinary events such as illness.”

“If almost everyone benefits from a certain service, it is no longer an insurance benefit.”

A date for the vote has yet to be announced.

Url copied to clipboard!