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For a week it seemed that the fate of Switzerland depended on its ski lifts. Plans by Health Minister Alain Berset (48) to restrict winter tourism were leaked on Monday: representatives of the mountain cantons went directly to the barricades.
With the active help of the bourgeois parliamentary majority, they resisted and were rewarded: the measures that the Federal Council finally announced on Friday afternoon for winter sports remain manageable: there are no restrictions on the number of visitors to the ski areas individual, but an upper limit for transport.
There was nothing else on the Federal Council for Berset. It went even less far than required by the cantons. The majority of the booths voted in favor of the capacity restrictions in the consultation.
It heated up on Friday, according to a source close to the Federal Council. The council dragged on. Which is mainly due to the fact that Berset’s concern has shifted from the mountainous regions to the lowland cantons where the virus threatens to spiral out of control, right at the start of the Christmas rush, the Sunday sales and three weeks before the family celebrations with grandparents and grandparents. in front of the Christmas tree.
Berset takes on German-speaking Switzerland
In Friday’s round, the Health Minister explicitly campaigned for a mandate that would allow the chest cantons whose new infections clearly indicate an exponential spread of the virus, all in German-speaking Switzerland.
In the end he was followed by the entire Federal Council, reluctantly and only because Federal President Simonetta Sommaruga (60, SP) demanded an even stricter approach. In a separate report, he had threatened the cantons with partial disempowerment, as reported by the “Tages-Anzeiger”.
On Saturday at 10 am, Sommaruga and Berset spoke with representatives of various cantonal governments in a video conference. In particular, they prayed for the people of eastern Switzerland who, despite the high number of infections, have yet to order further measures.
As SonntagsBlick learned from various sources, in addition to St. Gallen, Thurgau, and Appenzell-Ausserrhoden, the cantons of Basel-Landschaft, Solothurn, and Aargau were also asked to speak. Zurich, the most populous canton, was left out.
The Federal Council wants to see action
Berset now expects a consistent approach: cultural and leisure facilities will be closed and the number of participants in events will be reduced even more rapidly. If necessary, restaurants should also be sent on vacation.
The deadline for tightening is tight. The Federal Council will meet on Tuesday, until then, at least, Berset awaits declarations of intent. The signal is clear: lengthy negotiations are no longer an option. And: the cantons leave no trace, the federal government takes over. As said, most of them cooperated.
Cantonal resistance
However, behind closed doors, individual cantonal representatives criticize Berset’s power play. They are reluctant to follow Berne directives. If this resistance solidifies, the great cacophony threatens in the days ahead. Then the Federal Council would be forced to impose more restrictions, if Berset manages to win over the majority of his colleagues.
The French-speaking part of Switzerland, whose representatives had recently been exposed to harsh criticism, was faster. Berset had reached out to the French-speaking cantons bilaterally in recent weeks; the measures decided are now gradually taking effect: the number of cases is decreasing in French-speaking Switzerland much more dramatically than in German-speaking Switzerland. And today they are deeper than this side of the Saane.
However, the death toll remains extremely high. Two weeks ago, SonntagsBlick reported that the fire department had to help with funerals in the canton of Geneva. The grim images now threaten German-speaking Switzerland as well, according to Geneva virologist Isabella Eckerle (40). “The number of deaths will definitely increase again in German-speaking Switzerland. The intensive care units are already very busy. About a third of these patients will not survive the disease; you can find out what that means. “
Tighter measures are unavoidable
Therefore, it is inevitable that stricter measures will be taken, according to Eckerle: “Unfortunately, in the perception of the people, everything that is allowed does not represent a risk. But that is not the case in Switzerland in particular. “
In addition, the cantonal patchwork quilt overwhelms the population. It is not always clear which measures are applied in which regions, a situation that has persisted for months.
The psychologist Jacqueline Frossard (62) is convinced that better coordination is crucial to understanding the population: “Federalism is enormously valuable, but more uniform approaches are needed, especially in neighboring cantons.” An improved agreement is important, but also the guarantee that the shops and pubs will not stay open at the expense of other cantons.
“The danger is often underestimated”
However, personal responsibility cannot be ignored, emphasizes Josef Widler (66): “Everyone should behave as if they were contagious. Today the danger is often underestimated. “President of the Zürcher Ärztegesellschaft:” We make too many systematic mistakes, for example, we forget to wash our hands. “
It is also clear that the federal government and the cantons need more measures to reduce the number of cases. Many hospitals are still at capacity and nursing staff are also struggling with the aftermath of the second wave.
Therefore, the coming days of Christmas are causing great concern to experts: “In combination with the high incidence, these can become a tinderbox,” says virologist Eckerle.
“We are walking on very thin ice.”
