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Museums, cinemas and concert halls in the canton of Bern will be closed until at least December 7. After an assessment of the situation, the Berne government decided to extend the crown measures until this date.
Measures in force in the canton of Bern, some of which went beyond federal standards, were limited to November 23. As the cantonal government announced to the media on Thursday, given the still high number of cases, it decided to extend the measures for a good two weeks.
The government hopes, according to a statement, that in two or three weeks it will be able to relax “in the direction of federal measures.”
The canton of Bern reported 416 new infections on Thursday. On Thursday morning, 385 people were lying in hospitals in Bern with a Covid 19 disease caused by the coronavirus. This number has remained practically constant in recent days, says the Berne government. The number of people receiving artificial ventilation has increased.
In view of the constant number of people hospitalized, no adjustment is appropriate, health director Pierre Alain Schnegg told the media. However, before measures can be relaxed, the pressure on hospitals must be reduced and the number of new infections must be reduced significantly.
The canton of Bern has stricter rules than the federal government, not just for museums, for example. The canton of Bern also limits public events to a maximum of 15 people.
Quickly develop a hardship ordinance
Cantonal Economic Director Christoph Ammann welcomed the program presented by the Federal Council on Wednesday to cushion economic hardship as a result of the crown crisis. The cantonal government decided to participate in the federal program.
According to Ammann, there is a legal basis in the canton of Bern that allows a cantonal ordinance on hardship to be quickly filed. There is a corresponding article in the cantonal economic development law. The regulation will now be drafted quickly and then submitted to the Secretary of State for Dry Economy.
The cantonal ordinance must be approved by the latter. The cantonal government’s goal is to process applications this year. It wants to impose stricter requirements on businesses than the federal government. This in order to use the funds in the most specific way possible and to keep the canton’s execution costs as low as possible.
The Federal Council now wants to provide CHF 1 billion instead of CHF 400 million for hardship. The federal government and the cantons should each contribute half of the first 400 million Swiss francs. For the second tranche of the emergency fund, the federal government will assume 80 percent and the cantons 20 percent.
According to the Berne government, 120 million Swiss francs will flow to the canton of Berne if the funds approved by the Federal Council are fully used. 80 of these 120 million would come from the federal government, 40 from the canton.
18 million paid for culture
As announced by cantonal director for education and culture Christine Häsler, the Berne government wants to continue classroom teaching in Berne schools. This teaching in the classroom is important to the governing council.
He also said that a total of 18 million Swiss francs had been paid to 704 cultural institutions and individual artists in Bern. This as a loss of income as part of the first corona wave. 15 million went to institutions, three to individuals. The canton of Bern received 1,234 requests for support. (sda)
