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HEALTH

These Swiss cantons have made masks compulsory in schools

School goes back on Monday, August 10th in cantons across Switzerland. From masks to plexiglas, this is how cantons are hoping to protect students.

Published: 4 August 2020 16:26 CEST
These Swiss cantons have made masks compulsory in schools
Photo: Pexels/Free to use

 

Masks have been made compulsory in high schools and vocational education centres in the western canton of Neuchâtel. 

Neuchâtel has followed the lead of Lucerne and Geneva in requiring masks in schools, although unlike Lucerne students do not have to pay for their own masks. 

Neuchâtel State Councilor Monika Maire-Hefti told Le Temps “Wearing a mask will be compulsory in post-compulsory education, if one cannot respect 1.5 meters of distance”. 

READ: Everything you need to know about Switzerland's new compulsory mask requirement 

In practice, Le Temps reports that masks will be compulsory inside all high schools and vocational centres in Neuchâtel as distance requirements will be difficult to comply with. 

Masks will not compulsory outside, while Maire-Hefti also said “”in some workshops that are large enough, however, the students should not wear them.”

The canton has ordered 120,000 masks for students to wear in order to comply with the requirement. 

Will masks be required in other cantons? 

Authorities in Bern will meet on August 7th to discuss a mask requirement. 

In Thurgau, authorities will also make a decision on wearing masks before school goes back. 

What are schools in other cantons doing?

Schools in Basel Country have said they will provide students with masks in high schools and vocational education centres in situations where distancing will not be required, although wearing masks will not be compulsory. 
 
In Aargau, schools will not require masks but have installed plexiglas where distance cannot be kept. 

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HEALTH INSURANCE

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

The Swiss health system is ranked among the best in the world, but some essentials, like glasses, aren't automatically covered by health insurance. That could soon change, however

Published: 16 May 2024 15:06 CEST
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. 

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