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 are tightening a variety of measures. 

The cantons of Solothurn, Basel City and Basel Country will also toughen their measures. 

What will change in Zurich – and when?

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

The measures will be in place until January 10th, 2021, at the earliest. 

A max of four people from a maximum of two households can sit on the same table in the same restaurant. 

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, kiosks and take-aways. 

Brothels, casinos, strip clubs, cabarets 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. This is lower than the federal maximum of 15 people. 

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. 

High school and vocational school students will work from home between Christmas and January 4th, after which normal classes will resume.