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Switzerland: More than 2,400 people fined for cross-border shopping during coronavirus lockdown

2,448 people were caught and fined for cross-border shopping during the coronavirus lockdown, new figures have revealed, while 112,049 people were turned away at the border.

Published: 30 June 2020 17:38 CEST
Switzerland: More than 2,400 people fined for cross-border shopping during coronavirus lockdown
A Swiss customs officer attaches a chain to a fence after opening the Swiss-French border on June 14, 2020 in Thonex near Ambilly, France. Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP

Switzerland closed its borders to cross-border shoppers on April 16th, three weeks after borders were closed to tourist traffic. 

READ: How Switzerland avoided a coronavirus 'catastrophe' by protecting cross-border workers 

Cross-border shopping was again allowed from June 15th onwards. 

In the lockdown period, the Federal Council has declared that 2,448 people were fined for cross-border shopping, among a total of 8,848 fines for lockdown breaches. 

The fine for all breaches of Swiss lockdown restrictions is CHF100.

READ: Swiss cross-border shoppers fined for not wearing masks in Germany

In addition, 112,049 were turned away trying to cross the border into Switzerland. In total, cross-border passenger traffic dropped by 80 percent during the lockdown period. 

During this time, Switzerland’s borders were left open only to citizens, residents or cross-border workers.

There was a further exception to these categories for people who could show they were in a “situation of extreme necessity”, with 16,854 allowed to cross the border in this category. 

Swiss authorities said that crime in border regions dropped by more than 40 percent during the lockdown, primarily related to the trafficking of people, narcotics and arms. 

 

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HEALTH INSURANCE

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

The Swiss health system is ranked among the best in the world, but some essentials, like glasses, aren't automatically covered by health insurance. That could soon change, however

Published: 16 May 2024 15:06 CEST
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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