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The scientific working group sounded the alarm again yesterday. Its president, Martin Ackermann, said that Switzerland had to prevent the spread of mutated Corona variants “in all circumstances.” For this, low infection rates are essential. Ackermann presented a horror scenario: if the mutated virus spreads in Switzerland, as in England, there could be 20,000 new infections by spring, per day!
Therefore, the task force did not just warn against “hasty easing”, which probably meant the reopening of ski areas, as the cantons of central Switzerland announced yesterday. Instead, he also suggested additional measures: more home offices and a delay in starting school (most cantons will start again this Monday) would help buy time and delay the spread of the virus.
Ongoing exchange without a formal meeting
The pointed appearance of the task force, which made the covers of “Blick” and “Tages-Anzeiger” today, took place a day before the Federal Council wanted to assess the situation of the crown. The usual Wednesday meeting of the state government doesn’t take place between holidays, and Corona doesn’t change that. Several federal advisers, including the federal president on January 1, 2021, Guy Parmelin, are in Bern. A “continuous exchange” would take place, one could “react at any time” even without a formal meeting, according to the Federal Council.
No further action is expected this week. This is indicated in a so-called information note from Alain Berset’s Department of the Interior (EDI), which was sent to the other departments yesterday, before the task force appeared. Based on this, Berset does not currently see an immediate need for action and is not proposing any new measures at the moment. But as always in this pandemic, he is left open to drawing different conclusions at any time.
Today at noon the Federal Council officially announced that, after analyzing the epidemiological situation, it had come to the conclusion that the established hardening criteria were not met. It will reassess the situation on January 6, 2021. The Federal Council also announced that seven people in Switzerland have so far been identified as being infected with the Great Britain virus mutation.
Between “cautiously optimistic” and “little optimism”
On Monday, Berset was “cautiously optimistic” at a press conference, but at the same time stressed that the current situation was difficult to assess due to the holiday season. The Federal Office of Public Health (BAG), which is located in the Bersets department, reached a more critical assessment yesterday: Patrick Mathys, head of the crisis management section at the BAG, said that “there was not much optimism for exude”.
It is indisputable, both at the federal and cantonal levels, that due to the corona mutation, testing should be more consistent and contact tracing should be intensified in the case of new infections. The head of the task force, Ackermann, advocates more complex backtracking, that is, tracing the place where a person was infected. According to Linda Nartey, vice president of cantonal doctors, this will be difficult. Even now, not all cantons can guarantee classic contact tracing.
