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GENEVA – Switzerland’s Health Minister admitted on Saturday that the government made a mistake by easing too much COVID-19 restrictions, resulting in some of the fiercest infection rates in Europe during the second wave of the pandemic.
Alain Berset said the Swiss approach put an emphasis on personal responsibility, but accepted that it had not worked.
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The virus will not disappear anytime soon, he added, despite the implementation of vaccines.
In March, during the first wave of infections, Switzerland was not as affected by deaths from COVID-19 and did not impose as strict a lockdown as other European states. Then he removed his restrictions in stages.
From just three new cases recorded on June 1, infections rose slowly before skyrocketing in October, when cases, hospitalizations and deaths began to double from week to week.
When asked about Switzerland’s mistakes, Berset told national broadcaster SRF: “There were some.”
“In the summer, we had the feeling that the worst was over. We were too relaxed. And then we were too optimistic when we thought we could reopen the big events in the fall,” particularly the football and ice hockey games.
In early November, Geneva had the worst per capita infection rates in Europe.
With a population of 8.6 million, Switzerland is registering a stubbornly high rate of around 5,000 new cases and 100 deaths a day.
“The Swiss style has a price. It requires personal responsibility, reason and foresight from everyone. If that doesn’t work, we have to tighten the measures. We did it,” Berset said.
“The good thing about the current situation is that we still have reserves.”
– good instinct –
Starting Tuesday, bars and restaurants began closing again across the country in an attempt to stem the outbreak.
Berset said that in making decisions during the crisis, he ultimately had to rely on “instinct.”
“To overcome a crisis, the worst thing is to simply do nothing, stay stuck and submit to it. Of course, if you make mistakes, you must correct them as quickly as possible.”
Switzerland began rolling out the COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday, and a nursing home resident in her 90s received the first injection just four days after the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was licensed.
“This virus will not disappear anytime soon. It will stay, despite vaccines and the best medication,” Berset said.
“Then there are the consequences of the crisis, which should not be underestimated: economic, social consequences.”
Regarding rebuilding society after the pandemic, Berset said: “My fear is that we will lose this opportunity.”
He called for the strengthening of international organizations in response to the crisis, in particular the Geneva-based World Health Organization, which has been heavily criticized by outgoing US President Donald Trump.
“Without the WHO, everything would be much worse now,” Berset said.
