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TODAY IN SWITZERLAND

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

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 Tuesday
Mask requirement prevented many viruses from spreading. Photo by Gustavo Fring from Pexels

Three hundred vaccinated people infected with Covid in Switzerland

Since the start of the vaccination campaign in Switzerland in January and until July 22nd, 300 fully vaccinated people contracted the coronavirus, according to the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH).

The majority of contaminations are due to the fast-spreading and highly contagious Delta strain, which currently accounts for 96.7 percent of Swiss cases.

READ MORE: How Switzerland plans to contain the Delta variant

However, FOPH spokesperson Daniel Dauwalder said that the number of fully vaccinated people who have contracted the virus remains proportionally very low, given that 3,985,251 of Switzerland’s residents are fully immunised to date.

Duration of post-vaccine immunity: vaccines versus infection

Coronavirus immunity lasts longer after vaccination than after recovery from the disease, according to a document published by the Covid-19 Task Force.

Inoculation with two doses of mRNA vaccines (such as Pfizer / Biontech or Moderna, both is which are used in Switzerland) induces antibody responses that are two to four times stronger than after the effect of infection.

The protection lasts longer as well: 50 percent more against moderate illness for 16 months after the second shot, versus eight months after recovery, and 80 percent higher against severe illness for three years after inoculation; post-recovery, that duration is 16 months.

This data relates to people under 75 years. For older age groups, the Task Force estimates that the protection is lower: seven to10 months for moderate illness, and 15-24 months for severe cases.

The US will not lift travel ban on Swiss and other foreign travellers in the near future.

Although earlier in July US president Joe Biden hinted at possible easing of entry requirements for foreigners “in the coming days”, this has not happened.

In fact, residents of Switzerland who are waiting for a chance to travel to America will have to be patient a bit (or much) longer.

The White House announced on Monday that it would not lift its travel ban at this point, due to the concerns over the Delta variant, so holidays in the United States seem highly unlikely this summer.

However, fully vaccinated Americans can travel to Switzerland.

READ MORE: Travel: What documents do Americans need to visit Switzerland?

The positive (yes, positive) side of Covid-19

Since March 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic began, Swiss health authorities have recorded 20 percent less infectious diseases than in the same period in 2019.

They include illnesses that cause an average of more than 100 cases in ordinary years, including mosquito-borne diseases like malaria and dingue fever, bacterial diarrhea, respiratory diseases, as well as sexually-transmitted infections such as HIV.

The closure of many public facilities during the shutdown, as well as widespread preventive measures such as compulsory masks and physical distance, have reduced people’s exposure to these viruses and bacteria, according to FOPH.

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 Friday

Traffic jams, the power of Swiss chocolate, and other news from around Switzerland on Friday.

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

Easter traffic jams clog Swiss motorways

Traffic headaches continue on Good Friday for drivers in Switzerland during the Easter holidays.

After beginning with delays of up to and hour and 20 minutes on Thursday afternoon, drivers can expect only a little relief on Friday.

Thursday’s 9km long jam around Gotthard has let up only a little, with regular jams on the A2. As an alternative, the Touring Club of Switzerland (TCS) recommends using the A13 and San Bernandino Tunnel.

Routes heading south towards Italy are likely to see the most traffic, and the weather won’t make that situation better – with rain coming Monday that could see a risk of landslides and floods.

Switzerland is EU’s biggest source of chocolate

More than a third of all chocolate imported into the EU in 2023 – a full 36 percent – came from Switzerland, according to new numbers from Eurostat.

On the flip side, Switzerland bought about 24,000 tonnes of chocolate from the EU – which is not enough to place it among the bloc’s top five non-EU buyers.

That makes Switzerland, by a long shot, a net exported for chocolate to the EU.

READ ALSO: What’s going wrong with Swiss chocolate?

Switzerland must strengthen control of its financial sector, IMF warns

The IMF urged Switzerland on Thursday to strengthen its financial sector regulation as supervising UBS has become “more challenging” since it grew into a global banking behemoth after its takeover of Credit Suisse.

Switzerland’s biggest bank was strongarmed by the government into buying Credit Suisse last year over fears that the second largest lender in the country might go under and spark a global financial crisis.

“Lessons from the CS (Credit Suisse) case should inform further reforms to strengthen the regulatory and supervisory framework,” the IMF said in a statement concluding its annual staff mission to Switzerland.

Like UBS, Credit Suisse was among 30 international banks deemed too big to fail due to their importance in the global banking architecture.

The merger raised serious concerns in Switzerland around jobs, competition and the size of the resulting bank relative to the Swiss economy.

“The complexity of the combined bank’s global operations also makes supervision more challenging,” the International Monetary Fund said.

You can read the full warning from the IMF here.

Swiss citizenship updates

With Zurich lowering citizenship fees in the canton, is it an apt time to consider taking Swiss citizenship?

If so, the process involves some bureaucracy, including a reference letter. Read our explainer about the letter, and how to prepare it.

EXPLAINED: What is in the reference letter you might need for Swiss citizenship?

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