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COVID-19

Switzerland decides shops, restaurants and museums can open in March

Switzerland announced on Wednesday that shops, museums and zoos can reopen from March 1st, while restaurants can open from March 22nd.

Published: 24 February 2021 15:40 CET
Updated: 24 February 2021 17:31 CET
An empty terrace in Switzerland during the coronavirus lockdown
Image: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP

Please note: Due to rising infection rates, Switzerland opted against opening restaurants in a meeting on March 19th. Please click here for more information. 

The Swiss government announced that non-essential shops, museums and library reading rooms will reopen, along with outdoor sports and leisure facilities, zoos and botanical gardens.

When making the announcement, the government said the country can gradually take the first steps out of Covid-19 restrictions and into the “gradual normalisation of social and economic life”.

Outdoor events for family and friends and sports and cultural activities involving up to 15 people will also be permitted.

“With this cautious reopening, the Federal Council is aiming to achieve a gradual normalisation of social and economic life, even though the epidemiological situation remains precarious because new, more infectious variants of the virus are circulating,” the government said in a statement.

“The initial reopening phase from March 1st essentially involves activities that allow people to wear masks and maintain social distancing, and that only involve small numbers of people or meeting outdoors.”

Restrictions aimed at reining in the coronavirus pandemic were imposed in December and January following a major spike in case numbers.

The government intends to ease off the measures in stages.

The next stage in reopening is scheduled for March 22nd, when the government hopes to allow the opening of outdoor areas at restaurants, changes to the requirement to work from home, and a limited number of spectators at sporting and cultural events.

“If the epidemiological situation improves in the coming weeks, it will also consider reopening indoor areas in restaurants,” the government said.

More than 550,000 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in Switzerland, population 8.6 million, while more than 9,200 people have died.

More than 675,000 vaccine doses have been administered, giving Switzerland one of the better doses per population rates in Europe.

Member comments

  1. Die Schweizer sind nicht schlau. Man sollte meinen, sie würden das Land und die Wirtschaft vor hohen Covid-Zahlen und neuen Varianten retten wollen. Aber nein. Sie sind wie Kinder, die nach einem Spielzeug schreien, wenn man es ihnen wegnimmt.

    Ihr Verhalten ruiniert den Ruf der Schweiz. Schade. macos/deepLFree.translatedWithDeepL.text

    1. Frankly, I disagree. Outdoor dining is a much lower risk than indoor activities. Sunlight/UV kills viruses and the moving air outside makes outdoor activities low risk. People are meeting often anyway indoors in private homes. Better we have them meet outdoors in the sunshine.

  2. Yes, outdoor is ok. But indoor – that’s a problem. It is one of the worst things one can do, along with gyms.

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COVID-19

What does the increase in the number of Covid cases in Switzerland mean?

Coronavirus infections are on the rise again, with Swiss health officials and epidemiologists expressing concern over the possible evolution of the disease.

Published: 15 November 2023 15:32 CET
What does the increase in the number of Covid cases in Switzerland mean?

While the worst of the Covid pandemic is long over, and experts don’t expect it to re-emerge with the same strength and health consequences as it had in 2020, new cases have been reported in the past weeks.

Wastewater analysis, one of the means employed by health officials to measure the presence of coronavirus, indicates a viral load that is at least five times higher than usual, with values “now almost as high as in some previous Omicron-related waves,” Christoph Ort, spokesperson for Eawag Institute, which traces Covid viruses in 14 wastewater treatment plants in Switzerland, told the media.

What does this mean?

According to Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), the most common sub-variant in Switzerland right now is the highly transmissible XBB, also known as ‘Kraken.’

The Eris and Pirola variants, which circulated in the summer and early fall are also still present.

While none is nearly as dangerous (at least for most people) as the early Alpha and Delta viruses, which claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in the early stages of the pandemic, there is a reason for concern nevertheless.

“It’s a start of a small wave,” said Rudolf Hauri, head of the Cantonal Doctors’ Association.

“More people are being admitted to hospitals again with, or because of, coronavirus. There are also new cases in intensive care units, but these are generally people with a medical history.”

Should you be worried?
 
While the number of people with serious Covid-related complications is not expected to be as high as previously, the rise in the number of infections should not be trivialised either, infectious disease specialists say.
 
This is especially important for people in the high-risk category — those over 65 or suffering from chronic illnesses — who can get quite sick if infected with the new variants, according to FOPH.
 
This is all the more important as the flu season is about to begin in Switzerland as well, and the confluence of both illnesses, plus other respiratory viruses that typically circulate during the winter, can be very risky.
 
What can you do to protect yourself?
 
Other than adopting the same protective measures as those during the pandemic — that is, washing hands, avoiding close contacts and crowded spaces, and wearing masks where needed — health officials also recommend top-up shots, for both Covid and flu.

READ ALSO: Who should get top-up Covid and flu jabs in Switzerland?

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