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COVID-19

Which Covid tests will become free in Switzerland?

The Swiss government looks set to make Covid testing free again, although exactly which tests are covered remains unclear.

Published: 7 December 2021 13:11 CET
Most Covid tests will not be free in Switzerland. Photo by Spencer Platt / Getty Images / AFP
Most Covid tests will not be free in Switzerland. Photo by Spencer Platt / Getty Images / AFP

On December 2nd, Switzerland’s National Council, the lower house of parliament, voted to make coronavirus tests free for everyone in Switzerland.

Now, the Council of States, the country’s upper house, voted to allow the government to provide for “exceptions to the assumption of costs” of some tests, including PCR and serological screening not ordered by the canton.

Currently, cantonal health authorities can order individuals to be tested if there is suspicion of infection or exposure to contaminated person(s), which in effect means that tests are free only for people with symptoms of the virus. 

In effect, this new proposal means there is greater leeway to the Federal Council to set exceptions as to which tests will have their costs covered. 

Which tests look set to be covered? 

This means that only antigen tests, valid for 24 hours since December 6th, as well as pooled PCR tests — individual saliva samples mixed together with others — would be free of charge.

Tests for people with Covid symptoms will also remain free.

On the other hand, you will have to pay for PCR tests needed for international travel — both going abroad and coming back to Switzerland.

READ MORE: Travel: What are Switzerland’s Covid test requirements?

It is now up to the Federal Council to decide which, if any, tests will be free and which ones will have to be paid for by the individuals.

Right now, it looks unlikely that all the tests will be cost-free.

Health Minister Alain Berset is opposed to free tests for the entire population, explaining that “this decision would limit the Federal Council and the cantons in the development of the testing strategy”.

Above all,  “the costs of individual PCR tests for asymptomatic people have never been covered by the government anyway and doing so now would add considerable costs as well as lead to an overload of the capacities of the laboratories”, he added.

READ MORE: Switzerland’s new testing rules: How much travelling abroad now costs

A decision will be made in the coming days on which tests will become free in Switzerland. 

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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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