All signs point to closing; the only question is: when and what exactly will be closed – Switzerland

The week is still young, but it is already extraordinary. The Federal Council demands that the measures be tightened on all sides. From the hospitals, the cantonal health directors, the cantonal doctors, the Federal Office of Public Health and the scientific working group.

Its president, Martin Ackermann, published the text of his speech on Tuesday, which he read to experts at the Point de Presse. In German, French and Italian. Ackermann left nothing to chance: the demand for long and fast closures must be heard. From a scientific point of view, the new measures should be very effective. If the scientific task force has its way, restaurants and stores that sell nonessential items should be closed. Also, the home office should be enforced whenever possible. The task force wants a blockade across Switzerland as in spring.

Even school closings are not taboo. Face-to-face classes should only be resumed after the Christmas holidays, if the epidemiological situation allows it. Ackermann explained:

Face-to-face classes are worth postponing. So that after New Year’s Eve students are quarantined before classes start. The canton of Zurich has already announced that secondary and vocational students will work independently at home for a week after the Christmas holidays. According to Zurich, the number of cases after the holidays was higher, especially at the upper secondary level. So far, other cantons have given up and referred to well-functioning protection concepts.

However, the canton of St. Gallen is also examining distance education for high school students, as the government announced on Tuesday. A decision will be made on Saturday. Schaffhausen, in turn, sends kindergarten teachers and schoolchildren of all levels to the Christmas holidays on December 18 instead of December 24. Its extension is under discussion.

Switzerland has no time or room for maneuver

Martin Ackermann mentioned three reasons for the fit:

1. The situation in hospitals: Due to crowded intensive care units, increasingly urgent and important interventions have to be postponed. So people who don’t have Covid also suffer. There are also infections in hospitals. Too many people in Switzerland are contracting the virus and healthcare workers have been working on the edge for months.
2. The time factor: according to the data, it quickly becomes clear that Switzerland has neither the time nor the room for maneuver to introduce measures that they are not sure are sufficient: “Here we can learn from the experience of French-speaking Switzerland and other countries” Ackermann said.
3. The virus knows no cantonal borders: even in western Switzerland, the reproduction value R is again close to 1. All of Switzerland is affected by the pandemic. Now is the time to stick together. The number of cases could only be reduced sustainably if the R-value falls below 0.8 across Switzerland.

Ackermann closed with an urgent appeal. One should see tough measures as an investment; “As an investment in the future to prevent even more drastic measures and even greater damage.” It is simply about preventing as many sick and dead as possible and supporting all who care for the sick. It’s about not paying too high a price before the vaccine arrives next year.

Ackermann was seconded by Patrick Mathys, who heads the crisis management and international cooperation section at the Federal Office of Public Health (BAG). Mathys also showed the bad situation in an international comparison, spoke several times of a “negative trend change” and warned against doubling the number of cases in less than 30 days. “You have to create air,” says Mathys. He sent a simple message to the population:

The BAG employee is professional enough not to demand anything from his bosses, the federal councilors. However, Mathys was also clear: “The situation is tense and dangerous. We do not have infinite time to discuss and adjust measurements or to do something. We need clear measures. But in the end this is a political process. “

Where the cantons press

That is why political decision makers are addressed. The governments of several cantons met on Tuesday.

1. Basel-city: The mini-lockdown in Basel will run until January 22. So the restaurants remain closed. The closure also applies to gambling halls, casinos and interiors of leisure and entertainment facilities. The Basel government would like these measures to be imposed at the national level as well. It is also compatible with the proposed traffic light model. However, the Federal Council should act faster than expected.
2. Basel: The Basel government has made clear expectations of the Federal Council. She assumes that the state government will decide on new national measures on Friday. For example in relation to restaurants. In the event that the Federal Council, contrary to expectations, remains inactive, the Basel government has prepared a package of measures that would take effect at the end of the week.
3. St. Gallen: The canton of eastern Switzerland is one of the most severely affected regions in Switzerland. The St. Gallen government also assumes that the Federal Council will adopt new rules on Friday. Otherwise, St. Gallen will decide on Saturday. It seems likely that restaurants will be closed, distance education for level II is being discussed. It has not yet been definitively decided if the ski areas will have to close during the holidays, but it is likely. The government of St. Gallen would like to see the ski areas in Switzerland closed.
4. Schaffhausen: The government is closing schools at all levels, from kindergarten to vocational school, on December 18 instead of December 24. The cantonal government is also considering ordering distance education for the first two weeks after the Christmas holidays, that is, until January 15, 2021.
5. Glarus: Similar signals come from Glarus. The government is considering advancing the Christmas holidays in schools. In addition, it is awaiting the decisions of the Federal Council on Friday and any tightening depends on them.
6. Zug: Health Director Martin Pfister informed the “Zuger Zeitung” at the request that the Kantos government is demanding “more decisive action” from the Federal Council. The traffic light system that the Federal Council wants to implement on Friday is not enough. “We do not consider the cascade approach to be sufficiently consistent in view of the development of the epidemiological situation.” Pfister goes on to say: “If a lock is necessary, it must be issued quickly, consistently and for a limited period.” The governing council opposes a “gradual blockade for a longer period”. Federal Councilman Berset sent the so-called three-level stoplight system for consultation on Monday. Cantonal governments had until Tuesday afternoon at 5 pm to comment on this.
7. Grisons: Strange signals arrive from the mountainous canton. Only one thing is clear: the Graubünden government is doing everything in its power to ensure that the ski areas are open during the festive period, and they will definitely decide on December 22. Because the canton has to issue a permit. To improve the epidemiological situation by then, the restaurants will remain closed until December 23. The government even hopes that by then it will meet federal criteria of keeping restaurants open until 11 p.m. instead of 7 p.m. On Tuesday, the Graubünden government publicly demanded that skiers who have suffered an accident be treated at hospitals in their canton of origin. This is because 13 of the 16 beds in the intensive care unit at the Cantonal Hospital in Graubünden are occupied. The Graubünden government has withdrawn from the lawsuit. You cannot simply expect solidarity from the other cantons, said health director Peter Peyer. At the same time, economic director Marcus Caduff emphasized in front of the media: “Closed ski areas do not solve the problems of intensive care units.”

All in all, a look at the cantons shows that the Federal Council is expected to take further action on Friday. And if he doesn’t order it himself, the cantons will tighten the rules.

The full press conference: