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Hospital beds are increasingly occupied by corona patients. The first hospitals are already postponing other operations. If the pandemic cannot be stopped, the capacity limit in hospitals could be reached in two weeks, the chairman of the Working Group, Martin Ackermann, warned on Friday.
Therefore, the Minister of Health, Alain Berset (48), is under pressure. He is accused of being too reluctant to act in the second wave. Today Berset is visiting the University Hospital of Lausanne, where the first patient in Switzerland died from the coronavirus eight months ago.
Mandatory outdoor mask
To drive the rising hospitalization curve, Berset suggests that the cantons take tougher measures. In a draft he submitted to consultation on Friday, the health minister calls for an outdoor mask requirement and a maximum limit of 50 people for events.
It is reportedly a strategic move by Berset, who wanted to pressure the overly reluctant cantons with the far-reaching proposal. But the health minister would also be willing to toughen the mask requirement.
This could mean, for example, that the outer mask requirement only applies when there are crowds of people where distance measurements cannot be observed. The Federal Office of Public Health has taken on the task of developing a new and clearer formulation, says Federal Bern.
VIEW will report live from 11.30 am on the visit of Federal Councilor Alain Berset to the University Hospital of Lausanne. (until)
