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HEALTH

Why are Swiss healthcare workers exempt from the compulsory quarantine requirement?

Everyone who returns to Switzerland from a so-called ‘high-risk’ country will be forced to quarantine - except for healthcare workers in some cantons.

Why are Swiss healthcare workers exempt from the compulsory quarantine requirement?
A nurse stands in front of University Hospital Geneva. Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP

Although there are high fines levied for breaching quarantine – sometimes as high as 10,000 francs – healthcare workers who return from high-risk countries can be called into work the very next day. 

As reported in Swiss news outlet 20 Minutes, the reason for the exception is simple: healthcare workers are more needed than ever. 

Therefore, if there is a staff shortage or someone in the health sector is otherwise needed, they can be called up by their employer and will face no consequences for going to work. 

Q&A: What travellers to Switzerland should know about the new 10-day quarantine rule 

Although allowing possibly infected people to work with the already ill and vulnerable – not to mention other healthcare workers – may appear to be a poor way of controlling the virus, University Hospital Zurich spokesman Claudio Jörg told 20 Minutes Swiss hospitals’ “strict security requirements” prevent the virus from being transmitted. 

It is up to shift supervisors and the hospital’s HR department to decide whether a returning staff member will be asked to work. 

Hospitals advise their staff against travelling to high-risk areas, but Swiss law does not allow an employer to prevent an employee from making such a trip. 

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

While Jörg did not indicate whether or not a returning employee had been asked to skip quarantine in order to work, a staff shortage at Spitex in Zurich has already seen one returning employee asked to work. 

The Zurich Health Directorate defended the approach taken by the clinic, highlighting the essential nature of healthcare employees. 

“Employees in the nursing sector as well as in Spitex are people whose work is essential for the maintenance of the health system,” says spokesman Marcel Odermatt.

According to 20 Minutes, said that a similar system applies in Basel – although here a request will need to be made to cantonal health officials for approval. 

Other hospitals contracted by Swiss media, including some in Geneva, Lausanne, Bern and Aarau have said they will respect the ten-day quarantine requirement. 

 

 

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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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