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Switzerland has one of the highest crown numbers in Europe, hospitals are sounding the alarm. However, the government only decided to toughen the measures on Friday, but not a lockdown.
In view of the further increase in the number of corona infections, Switzerland is tightening protective measures again. Restaurants, cinemas, museums and sports clubs are due to close starting next Tuesday, but shops and ski areas may remain open despite criticism from outside. The government decided on Friday.
“The epidemiological situation is worrying,” a Federal Council statement said on Friday. Looking at the current figures, Health Minister Alain Berset said: “We are too high.”
The number of infections in Switzerland, relative to the number of inhabitants, is among the highest in Europe. However, the federal government and cantons have so far been cautious. Only last week were public events banned and a curfew was introduced for restaurants at 7pm, but there were exceptions.
Doctors called for a quick shutdown
A scientific advisory council had urgently advised the government to take even stricter measures. Martin Ackermann, chairman of the Covid-19 Science Task Force, also advised closing most stores and strictly enforcing home work. “Every day counts, the faster the better,” Ackermann said Tuesday.
Doctors and scientists have been sounding the alarm for weeks that the measures are too lax. Hospitals say they are working at full capacity. The director of the University Hospital Zurich (USZ), Gregor Zünd, said on Tuesday: “We cannot imagine that we can avoid a closure.” At that time, the R-value in the canton of Zurich was 1.16. “How long should these warnings last before something happens?” Isabella Eckerle, a German virologist at Geneva University Hospital, tweeted this week.
Skiing fun on the Titlis slopes: Despite the growing number of corona, the ski areas will remain open for the time being. (Source: Urs Flueeler / dpa)
Ski slopes open despite crowded hospitals
Together with the directors of two other hospitals in Zurich, Zünd came out decisively against being allowed to ski at Christmas. “The risk of infection when skiing during the Christmas holidays is high,” Zünd said. The risk of a third crown wave increases in January. Zurich hospitals often take in skiers who have suffered an accident in winter. Directors said this was not possible for capacity reasons.
Despite everything, the ski areas will remain open for the time being. President Simonetta Sommaruga simply said that if the situation does not improve, there will be even stricter rules in the coming year. Then the cantons could also close the ski areas. The canton of Valais, in which Zermatt and Saas Fee are located, has already issued a permit for the operation of almost all elevators and mountain railways.
The federal Office of Public Health reported nearly 4,500 new infections and 120 new deaths on Friday. Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been 4,673 corona cases per 100,000 inhabitants in Switzerland and Liechtenstein; the figures are recorded together. For comparison: according to the Robert Koch Institute, the value in Germany is 1,731.
