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HEALTH

Coronavirus lockdown extended in Swiss canton of Ticino

The coronavirus lockdown will be extended in the heavily-hit Swiss canton of Ticino, despite being rolled back across the rest of the country.

Coronavirus lockdown extended in Swiss canton of Ticino
Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP

Ticino cantonal authorities on Wednesday applied to the Federal Council for an exemption to the first round of lockdown relaxations, which are set to take place from April 27th across the country. 

The application was approved late on Wednesday afternoon. 

In Ticino, hardware stores and garden centres are set to open on May 3rd at the earliest. Construction sites in Ticino will also remain closed until at least that date, although minor work with a maximum of 15 people – up from ten currently – will be allowed. 

Ending Switzerland's coronavirus lockdown: The key questions

Companies with more than ten employees will need apply to cantonal authorities to be allowed to work. 

Ticino has also extended the state of emergency until the end of May. 

Rest of the country set to begin opening on April 27th

On April 27th, retail and cosmetic shops will be allowed to open again.

This includes hairdressers, tattoo parlours, massage salons, cosmetic and makeup salons, hardware stores, garden centres and flower shops. 

Restrictions on hospitals and medical centres performing non-essential procedures will also be lifted, with doctors, dentists and physiotherapists again allowed to carry out general work which had been restricted by the coronavirus. 

These activities had been heavily restricted in order to lower the risk of coronavirus infection should people visit hospitals and medical care facilities.

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HEALTH

The essential Swiss websites you need to use for health matters

If you just moved to Switzerland (or even if you have lived here for a while), your learning curve about health-related matters in the country may be steep. These sites will help you find the information you need.

The essential Swiss websites you need to use for health matters

Staying healthy is probably one of your top priorities, but doing so in a foreign country is not easy.

That is why having some reliable resources that you can check out and follow will be helpful.

First: The Local

No, we are not doctors, but we have published a number of factual articles over the years about many aspects of healthcare in Switzerland that our readers find helpful.

You can find a compilation of these health-related stories here

Federal Office of Public Health 

Obviously, when it comes to matters of health, the Health Ministry has lots of information that will be relevant to you at one time or another.

Aside from matters of health policy (which is important for all residents of Switzerland), the site also has a regularly updated Infectious Diseases Dashboard to let you know what communicable illnesses are currently circulating in Switzerland — and how to avoid them.

It also provides age-specific health information and recommendations — for instance, for children and teenagers, as well as for the elderly.

Hospital websites

Individual hospitals in your area are good sources of information as well, and many of them are in English.

You can find there general health information, care and treatment options, online emergency room signup, new medical technologies being used, and other patient resources:

Geneva University Hospitals (HUG)

Vaud University Hospital (CHUV)

Zurich University Hospital

Basel University Hospital 

If you live in an area without a university medical centre, your local hospital is also a valuable source of health-related information.

Appointment booking platform

This website is especially useful for people who don’t yet have a doctor in Switzerland but need to set an appointment with one. 

It gives you an option of choosing a specialty and location, and then displays doctor’s names and addresses, background information about them, and which time slots they have available.

You can easily set up an appointment this way.

Your health insurer’s website

This may not be an intuitive choice for impartial information about healthcare but you may be surprised.

For instance, Sanitas insurance site has information about emergency care decisions, and how to void unnecessary medical treatments.

CSS has health information geared specifically to men and women.

Helsana talks about ways to combat stress and sleep problems.

These are just a few examples on what valuable tips you can find on your insurer’s website.

Websites devoted to specific medical conditions

If you seek information about a specific illness — such as treatment options in Switzerland — there are plenty of online resources for that as well.

For instance:

Heart and cardiovascular 

Diabetes 

Osteoporosis 

Mental illness 

General pain 

Other diseases 

Last but not least, while not related to health, these websites will also provide useful information for international residents:

The Swiss websites that can help you save money
 
The most useful website resources to help you get Swiss citizenship 
 
 

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