EU to recognise Swiss health pass this week

The long-awaited recognition of the Swiss health certificate by the European Union should enter into force on Friday or next Monday at the latest.

A special committee made up of representatives of all the Member States has given the green light for Switzerland’s certificate to be approved.  

Once the agreement is officially given, the Swiss health passport will be valid in the 27 countries of the European Union, plus Iceland and Norway.

This passport, in the form of a QR code on a smartphone or in print, must be presented by each traveler at the border.

It includes identification data and information relating to vaccination (type of vaccine, number of doses received), screening (date of test, negative or positive result), and even serological analysis, namely if the traveler had Covid and has antibodies.

READ MORE: TRAVEL: How does the new EU Covid certificate work and how do I get one?

One more week of rain

Sunny days are fleeting this summer, with heavy rains falling in many parts of Switzerland, particularly the French-speaking regions.

Blame it on the active low pressure system from the British Isles to the Pyrenees “which brings up clouds, humidity, rains and thunderstorms from France to Germany via the Alps”, according to MeteoNews.

Meteorologists predict that this inclement weather will last until July 16th and summer weather is expected to return after that date.

READ MORE: Torrential rain and thunderstorm to continue in parts of Switzerland

Be patient if you travel to Italy by train

The  Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) Eurocity trains are stalled at the Italian border for up to one hour due to rigorous coronavirus-related checks by the guards.

Swiss trains are routinely stopped at border stations of Como or Domodossola for protracted customs controls, so the Eurocity arrives in Milan with a correspondingly long delay.

Swiss government is now negotiating with Italy to find a simpler alternative for the large-scale and time-consuming coronavirus checks on Eurocity trains.

For instance, Switzerland proposed that to save time and avoid delays, Covid checks should be done on a train rather than at train stations. Also, control should be carried out on a random basis

Tobacco sales ban doesn’t deter young people from smoking

Preventing young people from buying cigarettes seems to have little impact, according to a new University of Basel study.

It shows that despite the sales ban, young people don’t smoke less than before.

Survey data indicates that the sales ban resulted in, at most, a slight reduction in tobacco use. In cantons that apply a sales ban before the age of 18, the effects appear to be a bit more dissuasive, although they remain weak and statistically unclear.

Study authors found that smoking tends to become less “cool”, although this has no measurable effect on the behaviour of smokers

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