Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

HEALTH

New coronavirus mutation detected in Switzerland

Swiss authorities have confirmed that a new mutation of coronavirus, which caused flights to be cancelled and borders to slam closed across the past week, has been detected in Switzerland.

Published: 25 December 2020 10:06 CET
New coronavirus mutation detected in Switzerland
Photo: DPA

Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) confirmed late on Christmas Eve that the mutation had been detected. 

The mutation was discovered in samples from two people who tested positive to the virus, 20 Minutes reported on Friday. 

The two people who tested positive are UK residents who arrived in Switzerland. 

The samples were sequenced at the National Reference Center for Emerging Viral Diseases in Geneva.

A canton has confirmed that the people are known by name and are currently in isolation, but the FOPH declined to disclose which canton was involved. 

While this is the first time the virus variant has been detected in Switzerland, experts said on December 21st that they assume it’s already here. 

 

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

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. 

SHOW COMMENTS