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‘Walking a tightrope’: Swiss react to government lifting shutdown measures

Some in Switzerland praised the government’s decision on Wednesday to ease some of the Covid-19 restrictions, while others warned about possible dire consequences.

Published: 15 April 2021 10:43 CEST
‘Walking a tightrope’: Swiss react to government lifting shutdown measures
Restaurants will be able to open up their outdoor terraces on Monday. Photo by STEPHANIE KEITH / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

The government said that as of Monday April 19th, Swiss restaurants and bars, which have been closed since December, will be permitted to open outdoor seating areas, along with cinemas and other leisure and sports facilities.

The announcement sparked diverse reactions among Switzerland’s political and business groups.

EXPLAINED: What are Switzerland’s coronavirus measures?

The most concerned by the decision, the umbrella organisation of the restaurant and hotel industry Gastrosuisse, said in a statement that the re-opening of outdoor spaces “is the first step in the right direction”.

However, restaurants that don’t have a terrace will not be able to open, “which implies inequalities of treatment,” the association pointed out.

The Swiss Conference of Cantonal Health Directors, on the other hand, “is satisfied with the gradual and cautious re-opening strategy, which is line with the wishes of the cantons”.

The Liberal Party also praised the decision to re-open, saying that the “the government has shown common sense”.

“By continuing to respect the sanitary measures, we can hope for further relaxations in the coming weeks”, the party added.

The Swiss People’s Party (SVP), which has been pressuring the Federal Council for weeks to re-open the economy, said the government is moving too slowly.

“The decisions are certainly pointing in the right direction, but these are only very small openings”, SVP said, adding that keeping indoor restaurants closed “is totally arbitrary and incomprehensible”.

READ MORE: Switzerland to ease Covid restrictions from Monday

The Swiss Union of Arts and Crafts (USAM), an association of small and medium-sized companies, also noted that the measures don’t go far enough and criticised the Federal Council for its “hesitant management” of the Covid-19 pandemic and “purely symbolic” relaxations.

However, on the opposite side of the political spectrum, the Green party considers the easing as “irresponsible” while the pandemic is still ongoing.

The Socialist Party has also spoken out against the re-opening, warning that the Federal Council is “walking a tightrope”.

Perhaps the most dire warning comes from the Medical Society of French-speaking Switzerland, whose president Philippe Eggimann said that by partially re-opening the gastronomy and other sectors of the economy, “we are playing with fire”.

“The game is not yet won and we are taking a real risk”.

What could happen as a consequence of the easing is that Switzerland could be hit by a new wave of infections in the summer, “while our European neighbours, still confined for the most part, will emerge from it just then”.

For Eggimann, it would have been more judicious if the government “waited until 50 percent of those over the age of 50 are vaccinated before taking these new measures”.

Health Minister Alain Berset conceded that the easing of measures while the country’s health situation remains fragile and has even worsened in recent weeks is “a calculated risk, but certainly not a blank check”.

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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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