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The canton of St. Gallen attributes the growing number of cases to young people who carelessly discount the risk of infection. It targets schoolchildren and partygoers with two measures: contact tracing is used to the maximum for bar and club operators; Middle schools should toughen the mask requirement. Not everyone is happy.
In the future, clubs like the BBC in Gossau will have to do the contact tracing themselves.
Crown numbers are increasing, not dramatically, but continually. The growing number of cases is mainly due to infections in people between 18 and 30 years old, the canton writes in a message. And furthermore: “The government observes with concern that many young people are increasingly careless with the current pandemic situation.” Therefore, the canton announced on Friday new measures aimed at adolescents and young adults. Even if through detours.
Bars and clubs now not only have to collect the contact details of their guests, but also monitor them. And above all: you have to notify your guests yourself if there is a risk of infection in your restaurant. That is, when a visitor subsequently tested positive for Covid-19. “Bars and clubs have to send a notification to the cantonal medical office within 48 hours,” says health director Bruno Damann. Affected guests must be quarantined.
Incorrect contact details make contact tracing difficult
Therefore, the canton is rapidly outsourcing the location of contacts with the club’s operators. Damann says:
St. Gallen Health Director Bruno Damann.
“Due to the increasing number of cases in the canton, we want to avoid contact tracker overload.”
The clubs’ long guest lists put the canton’s contact trackers to the test, especially as data was not always recorded correctly: “In recent weeks, we have noticed that not all clubs and bars systematically recorded their contact details.” . For this reason, the government decided to make the clubs and bars more binding, “knowing that this means an additional burden for the operators.”
The clubs were caught by surprise
Not just the extra effort, but the timing of the notification surprised bar and club operators on Friday. It is effective immediately and arrived shortly before the weekend.
“Anyone who has entered contact details by hand so far hardly has a chance to implement the requirements by mail.”
That’s what Daniel Weder says on behalf of Nacht Gallen, the community of interests of local organizers, food and culture businesses.
Daniel Weder, Managing Director of the St. Galler Kulturlokals Kugl.
The Kugl operator takes innovation in stride, like many other operators, he relies on the Quickreg.ch system from St. Gallen IT company Vadian.net. An SMS code ensures that the specified number is correct. Guests can also be informed by SMS in case of corona alarm. Therefore, the additional effort would be kept within limits: “It is mainly a question of cost,” says Weder.
I already passed the test
However, he would have liked the canton to talk to the bars and clubs beforehand. After all, no one opposes protection measures. On the contrary:
“We do everything possible not to have to close our bars at some point.”
Gossauer’s BBC is also based on Quickreg.ch. And he has already tested the system in an emergency: at the end of August, a guest celebrated at the BBC before testing positive; Subsequently, six employees also fell ill with Covid-19. “Even then, we informed our guests about the case in consultation with the canton,” says media spokeswoman Rita Bolt. The BBC also looks forward to the weekend in a relaxed way.
Mask requirement or not? Middle schools are waiting
The second measure of the canton, however, has a term of three weeks. Right at the beginning of the holidays, the canton issued a recommendation that a mask be required in secondary and vocational schools. According to the clumsy authority, this should be valid after the fall break in “traffic areas”, that is, hallways, entrance areas or bathrooms. In contrast, masks are not required in classrooms as long as permanent seats are taken.
At the moment, the schools are leaving open whether they will comply with the recommendation of mandatory homework. In the third week of vacation, a decision will be made on what to do after the lessons start, depending on the schools in question. The St. Gallen Vocational and Higher Education Center (GBS) already knows of a mask recommendation if the minimum distance cannot be maintained. This instruction is followed well, says Chancellor Daniel Kehl. The same applies to the Kantonsschule am Burggraben: if contact tracing is difficult, masking is also recommended, says rector Marc König. For example, when changing rooms during breaks or when lessons are not taught in regular classes.
