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TODAY IN SWITZERLAND

Today in Switzerland: A roundup of the latest news on Friday

Find out what's going on today in Switzerland with The Local's short roundup of the news.

Today in Switzerland: A roundup of the latest news on Friday
Very few vaccinated people develop Covid. Joseph Prezioso / AFP

Switzerland is getting ready for another wet weekend

The weather has been hot and sunny in the past few days, but it is expected to worsen starting tonight.

Meteorologists predict that strong thunderstorms are likely to hit Switzerland again, with hail storms and squalls also forecast.

“Saturday evening and night should be quite severe in many places in Switzerland”, said Roger Perret of MeteoNews, adding that the situation will remain “volatile” until mid-week.

READ MORE: Switzerland: Which areas are at the greatest risk of flooding this weekend?
 

Infections and hospitalisations up over one week

Though the number of daily Covid cases has been climbing in Switzerland in the last three weeks, health officials said they were not overly concerned as coronavirus-related hospitalisations have remained low.

However, new figures from the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) show that Covid-related admissions have more than doubled in the space of one week, from 23 to 48.

For the government to implement further measures, occupancy of beds in the intensive care units by Covid patients must exceed 300 over a 14-day period.

READ MORE : Why are Switzerland’s Covid rates on the rise once again?

Delta accounts for almost all coronavirus cases in Switzerland

As of July 22nd, over 94 percent of infections detected in Switzerland are attributed to the Delta  variant, according to the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH).

On the other hand, the share of contaminations caused by other strains has declined sharply.

This FOPH chart shows how Delta has overtaken the other mutations to become the dominant strain.

A tiny minority of people in Switzerland got Covid after vaccination

Vaccines don’t totally prevent infections, but the likelihood of catching coronavirus is minimal, health officials say.

Since the end of January 2021, out of 190,000 people who have tested positive to the virus, only 273 were fully vaccinated.

“We are pleased with these figures, as they prove that vaccines protect effectively against Covid-19”, Christoph Berger, president of the Federal Commission for Vaccinations told RTS broadcaster.

Geneva, the champion of bi-nationality

About 46 percent of the canton’s Swiss population aged 15 or over have dual citizenship,  according to a study by the Cantonal Statistics Office (Ocstat).

While  Geneva’s bi-nationality figures are the highest in Switzerland, “the same dynamic can be seen in the rest of the country, where dual citizenship has increased by five percent”, said Sophie Mouchet, statistician at Ocstat.

In total, over 19 percent of Switzerland’s population is bi-national.

If you have any questions about life in Switzerland, ideas for articles or news tips for The Local, please get in touch with us at [email protected]

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TODAY IN SWITZERLAND

Today in Switzerland: A roundup of the latest news on Thursday

Government decides on 13th pension modalities; Switzerland and Germany agree on fining each other's drivers; and more news in our roundup on Thursday.

Today in Switzerland: A roundup of the latest news on Thursday

Federal Council decides on 13th pension payouts and funding

After a referendum on March 3rd, when Swiss voters accepted the ‘13th pension’ initiative, the executive branch of the government was tasked with figuring out how to best implement the new law, and how to finance it

On Wednesday, the Federal Council decided to pay the 13th pension once a year, rather than spread it out over 12 months. 

In terms of financing the new scheme, the Federal Council is still mulling over two options: either to increase employee contributions by 0.8 percent, or raise them by 0.5 percent, with the rest of the revenue coming from a 0.4-percent hike in the Value-Added Tax.

The new measure will go into effect from 2026.

Switzerland and Germany agree on fining each other’s motorists

German motorists fined in Switzerland for traffic violations will soon be required to pay the fine in Germany — and vice-versa.

This measure is stipulated in a new bilateral police agreement between the two countries, to go into effect on May 1st.

The new regulation applies if the fine imposed exceeds 70 euros or 80 francs.

In Switzerland, these thresholds are reached quickly: exceeding the speed limit by 20 km per hour on the motorway  costs 180 francs (184.30 euros), and is even more expensive on secondary roads. In Germany, this type of offence costs 60 euros (58.75 francs). 
 
READ ALSO: Do I have to pay a fine if I get caught speeding in Switzerland in a foreign car?

Looking ahead at the rest of the week:

Geneva public transport disruption

Major disruptions are expected on lines 15 and 17 of the TPG network during part of the Easter school holidays.

That’s because power supply will be interrupted throughout the Route des Acacias sector for a week due to work related to the cleanup of the Drize. 

The TPG will take advantage of this temporary interruption to carry out maintenance work on the tracks in this section. Consequently, no trams will run on lines 15 and 17 between Plainpalais and Lancy-Piscine from today  at 11 pm until Friday April 5th at 4 am.

A replacement bus on line 15 will be put into service between Plainpalais and Palettes.

The Easter holidays were chosen for these works to “minimise nuisance for users of public transport,” the TPG said in a press release.

Also ahead :

Daylight savings time will begin on Easter Sunday, March 31st, at 2am. Clocks will be set one hour forward.

March 31st is also the deadline for tax declarations in most of Switzerland.

And this what you can expect to be open on Easter:

READ ALSO: What will be open in Switzerland over the Easter holiday weekend?

If you have any questions about life in Switzerland, ideas for articles or news tips for The Local, please get in touch with us at [email protected]

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