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HEALTH

Several Swiss cantons tighten coronavirus measures

Authorities in Zurich, Solothurn and Basel Country are tightening lockdown measures. Here's what you need to know.

Published: 8 December 2020 16:24 CET
Several Swiss cantons tighten coronavirus measures
Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP

On Saturday Health Minister Alain Berset told cantons with rapidly increasing contamination rates to urgently mandate stricter measures against the pandemic by December 11th.

The move is driven by the increasing number of Covid-19 infections in various German-speaking cantons and in Ticino.

As a result, authorities in Zurich, Solothurn and Basel Country are tightening a variety of measures. 

In addition, Basel City announced on Tuesday that it would extend its coronavirus measures by one week. 

Ticino on Monday closed all bars from 7pm onwards, while restaurants cannot open later than 10pm. 

Zurich

From Thursday, December 10th, Zurich will put in place tighter rules in a number of areas. 

People from a maximum of two households can sit on the same table in the same restaurant, reports 20 Minutes. 

Contact details must be collected of everyone who visits a restaurant. 

READ MORE: Cafés and restaurants in most of French-speaking Switzerland to re-open on December 10th 

All publicly accessible businesses must close at 10pm, including petrol station shops. 

Brothels, casinos and sauna clubs have to close. 

UPDATED: What are the coronavirus measures in every Swiss canton? 

Public gatherings are restricted to ten people – including rallies and protests. 

Performances in public are banned, as are fireworks. 

In addition, there is an ‘urgent recommendation’ to limit private gatherings to only two households until December 23rd. 

Basel Country

While not as extensive as those in Zurich, Basel Country will also put in place a new set of measures. 

These will apply from Friday, December 11th until January 17th, 20 Minutes reports.

Restaurants must close at 9pm, as will all other shops including petrol station shops. 

Events with more than 15 people are prohibited, regardless of whether they are public or private. 

The restrictions are set to apply at Christmas and at New Years Eve. 

Leisure facilities must close. 

Sports activities outside are restricted to small groups of a maximum of five people. Exceptions apply to competitive sports, professional gaming, school sports and sports for the purposes of study.

Solothurn

In Solothurn, restaurants must close from 9pm. Bars must close at all times, 20 Minutes reports. 

A maximum of 50 people are allowed to sit in a restaurant in this time. 

All events – public or private – cannot have more than 15 people, except for religious events during the festive period – these have a max of 30. 

Sports facilities, casinos and gaming arcades must close.

The measures will apply from Friday, December 11th up until January 31st. 

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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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