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According to German standards, most cantons should be included in the risk list. The authorities doubt. But how long?
German Health Minister Jens Spahn: The federal government could soon impose a quarantine requirement for travelers from other Swiss cantons.
So far, only the cantons of Geneva and Vaud are included in the risk list of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) of Switzerland. But the crown numbers that spiraled out of control in Switzerland have not been hidden from the federal government in Berlin. In most cantons, including Zug, Jura, Neuchâtel, Schwyz, but also in the canton of Zurich, infections are so high that they would have long been classified as risk areas by German standards.
Since spring, Germany has based its definition of risk areas on the so-called 7-day incidence. This indicator shows how many people in a certain region will be infected again with the coronavirus in seven days, and not in absolute numbers, but based on 100,000 inhabitants.
If the value of 30 infections per 100,000 inhabitants is exceeded, more moderate countermeasures are used in Germany. If the value of 50 infections is deciphered, restrictions apply, as currently in Berlin, Hamburg or Munich, where pubs must close before and there are contact restrictions in public spaces.
It already surpassed this week massively
With the exception of five cantons (AG, GL, BL, BS, SH), the 7-day incidence was already greatly exceeded this Monday, but the responsible ministries in Berlin are still hesitant to put most of the neighboring southern country in the risk list. set. Because the consequences of risk classification are enormous, anyone returning to Germany from an RKI risk area must have a current negative Covid test or be in quarantine for 14 days.
By German standards, the whole of Switzerland has nearly 90 Covid cases per 100,000 inhabitants and would therefore be a risk country overall. For comparison: despite some critical points, Germany has fewer than 30 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
“If necessary, it will add other cantons to the risk list”
Will there be other cantons on RKI’s risk list after Geneva and Vaud? According to the German government, this should be the case in the next few days. “We are in constant contact with the Minister of the Interior and the Foreign Ministry. We will continue to exchange ideas about Switzerland and, if necessary, add other cantons to the risk list, ”said the spokesman for the Ministry of Health upon request. He added: “The deciding factor here is the 7-day incidence.” If the Berlin government stays true to its line, it will have to act on Switzerland.
The CDU member of the Bundestag Felix Schreiner, chairman of the German-Swiss parliamentary group in the Bundestag, considers the debates on the expansion of the whole of Switzerland to become a risk zone useless. The 34-year-old refers to tens of thousands of cross-border travelers commuting to work from Germany to Switzerland. “Of course we are concerned about the events in Switzerland. But what we need now is a joint Swiss-German strategy instead of a debate on border closures or risk areas, ”warns the Baden-Württemberg resident.
Criticism of inappropriate data exchange with Switzerland
Schreiner regrets that the exchange of Covid app data between Germany and Switzerland has not yet started: “That would make it easier to track corona infections in the border area.”
German Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) is in talks with the Swiss Federal Council on the coordinated use of the corresponding Covid app. “I hope the federal government will find a solution to this problem with the Swiss Federal Council as soon as possible,” said Schreiner. Schreiner also hopes that the two countries will take a more uniform approach to Corona measures: “I have noticed that people in Switzerland did not have to wear a mask on public transport or in shopping malls for a long time, while the requirements of the masks had long been introduced in Germany. I’d like a more uniform approach here. “
