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Switzerland: Fribourg removed from Germany’s travel warning list

Germany has removed the Swiss canton of Fribourg from its travel warning list. Geneva and Vaud remain on the list.

Published: 1 October 2020 10:45 CEST

Switzerland: Fribourg removed from Germany's travel warning list

Photo: DANIEL ROLAND / AFP

Fribourg had been added to the list in early September, but was removed on October 1st.

The western cantons of Geneva and Vaud remain on the list due to high infection rates.

Geneva and Vaud had been added to the list on September 10th in light of high infection rates in the two French-speaking cantons, reported Swiss news outlet 20 Minutes.

The result of the decision is that anyone who enters from either Geneva or Vaud must be tested on arrival in Germany.

READ: Everything you need to know about Switzerland's quarantine requirement

This applies to returning German citizens as well as any other arrivals.

The tested person must then quarantine until the test result comes through, relying on health authorities for guidance.

‘The risk is too great': Why Switzerland rejected a five-day quarantine

Germany's threshold for placing a country on the high-risk list is 50 infections per 100,000 residents over the previous seven days.

While the infection rates in western Switzerland remain comparatively high, on the whole infection rates are falling.

On Wednesday, Switzerland fell below its self-imposed high-risk threshold.

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Could glasses and contact lenses soon be covered by Swiss health insurance?

Green Party Federal Councillor Katharina Prelicz-Huber revealed in an interview with newspaper 20 Minuten this week that the Federal Parliament had tabled a motion to include prescription glasses and contact lenses in Switzerland’s mandatory health insurance scheme.

Prelicz-Huber stated: “The purpose of compulsory health insurance is to provide the services you need to get or stay healthy,”

The motion forms part of the legislation that will be voted on during the 2024 summer session of the Federal Council.

Proposed changes

According to Switzerland’s peak optician body, 4 in 5 Swiss wear glasses or contact lenses at some point.

It’s no surprise that statistics repository, Statista, projects the Swiss eyewear industry to be worth €1.37 billion by 2028.

Currently, glasses and contact lenses are covered for up to 180 francs for children until age eighteen, if they are proscribed by a doctor.

Adults can also claim money back for glasses and contact lenses – however, they must be suffering from one of a short list of specific conditions such as keratoconus – where the cornea is distorted – or severe myopia, otherwise known as near-sightedness.

They must also have been specifically prescribed them by a doctor or optometrist.

Otherwise, supplemental optical insurance must be purchased in Switzerland to ensure you can recoup the cost.

Under the Green Party proposal, glasses, contact lenses, and other visual aids would be covered, regardless of age.

Rising premiums prompt opposition

Not everybody agrees with the proposal.

The right-wing SVP has already spoken out against it, with Federal Councillor Diana Gutjahr arguing: “If we seriously want to slow down the burdensome and constantly rising health costs for the benefit of the population, we [must] show the political will not to constantly expand the benefits of compulsory health insurance.”

A spokesman for the the health insurance advocacy group Santesuisse, Matthias Müller, echoed Gutjahr, claiming that insurance constitutes “financing for extraordinary events such as illness.”

“If almost everyone benefits from a certain service, it is no longer an insurance benefit.”

A date for the vote has yet to be announced.

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