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JSo now: after the Swiss government has resisted for weeks and months to impose a crown blockade on the entire country, it now appears to give in. On Friday, the Federal Council will likely adopt stricter precautionary measures to halt the spread of the virus in the country.
This assumption dates back to a press conference that Federal President Simonetta Sommaruga and Health Minister Alain Berset held this week to prepare the population for the tightening of the measures. That should have given the government enough time to discuss the new rules with the cantonal governments.
If the measures are now decided roughly as announced at the conference, this spells the temporary end of the much-discussed Swiss middle ground. Until now, Switzerland, as the last country in Europe, has not imposed any strict crown measures at the national level, but appealed to the individual responsibility of citizens and left the decision to the cantons, depending on the infection situation and the stability of the health system, to issue local locks, or not. what to do.
Change of strategy: health before economy
After Switzerland brought the virus under control through a tough lock on Corona’s first wave in the spring, the Federal Council launched a different strategy for the second wave, which Finance Minister Ueli Maurer defended about three weeks ago. In an interview, he answered the question of whether the pandemic had gotten out of hand due to the high number of cases and deaths: “We deliberately assume a certain risk because we weigh interests.” Not only health is important, but also The economy must live.
Health apparently outweighs this consideration, as statements from Tuesday’s press conference show. Federal President Sommaruga said that the Federal Council should take control of the issue again: “The last few days have shown that the strategy must be adjusted and the federal government itself must order additional measures. The number of infections has increased exponentially lately. “
Health Minister Berset added that it was the first time that Switzerland had been in this situation, in which the number of infections stagnated at a high level. Indeed, the crown figures paint a haunting picture: after the Swiss median in the first half of November caused a significant drop in the number of new corona infections, “Our World in Data” has been active since late November, according to the Plateau data website, it reached about 433 new cases per million inhabitants each day. More recently, the plateau rose again to 465 cases per day.
The situation is worse than in Germany
For comparison: the number of infections in Germany has also been at the same level since the beginning of November. However, with an average of 222 and more recently 233 new cases per day, they are almost half the level at which Switzerland is moving.
The number of daily deaths per corona, which has been around eleven deaths per million inhabitants in Switzerland since mid-November, and therefore roughly the same as in Italy, is equally concerning. In Germany, an average of 4.5 people per million inhabitants per day die from Corona.
Source: WORLD infographic
A look at the statistics on the use of intensive care beds is also cause for concern. Most of the cantons are painted bright red on the official website, indicating that intensive capabilities are almost fully used. This alarming color had previously identified western Switzerland in particular as a source of infection in the second wave, but the rest of the country is now also severely affected.
Hard lock until January 20?
The new security precautions should free Switzerland from this situation and apply from Saturday to January 20. They stipulate that restaurants and shops, markets and gyms must close at 7 pm and remain completely closed on Sundays.
Private meetings can only take place with up to five people from two households. Christmas holidays are excluded, during which gatherings with up to ten people are allowed. In addition, the new measures completely ban public and cultural events, in addition to religious services and legislative meetings.
But that’s not all: if the crown situation continues to worsen, the Federal Council will decide on a further adjustment from December 18, such as the complete closure of stores. After all, Switzerland would still be blocked. Federal President Sommaruga explains that this package should generate “clarity and certain security in planning” to protect the health of the population and “avoid further economic damage.”
After the government announced the tightening, it was immediately harshly criticized. There was resistance, especially in western Switzerland, because here some cantons have been locked up for weeks that are just being reversed. Criticism of having to close restaurants at night was equally high.
It is not yet clear whether the Federal Council will give the cantons some leeway to implement the measures. That will likely only be decided after the government meeting on Friday. But it is already clear that Switzerland will abandon its easy middle ground once and for all.
