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“Pandemic within the pandemic”
According to Health Minister Alain Berset, Switzerland is in a situation similar to that of early October, when the number of cases doubled every week: “From five to six weeks ago, cases of mutated variants have doubled every week, “said the Minister of Health at today’s press conference. If you missed this in the afternoon, you can read the most important statements from the Federal Council and the BAG in our article.
Massive tests in Baselland reveal four new corona cases
As part of a mass test of elementary school students and teachers in Niederdorf BL, four other people tested positive for the coronavirus, three of them with a mutated variant of the virus. A teacher and three children from two kindergartens are affected.
The focus of contagion may be limited to the two kindergarten classes, as the cantonal crisis team announced on Wednesday. These two classes have been in quarantine since January 27.
Swiss Post is feeling the online boom and wants to invest in IT
In the ‘crown year’ 2020, Swiss Post experienced an increase in digitization and wants to expand IT even further. The Neuchâtel and Bellinzona locations should also benefit from this. As a result of pandemic-related restrictions such as store and home office closings, the Swiss Post experienced a package boom last year, online access quadrupled, and many more video conferencing.
With around 1,700 IT employees, Swiss Post has one of the largest IT departments of its kind in Switzerland. Now he wants to consciously focus on quality, security and trust, as Wolfgang Eger, Swiss Post’s Director of IT / Technology since 2019, explained in a video press conference on Wednesday. He wanted to get him out of his shadowy existence, he had previously been underestimated.
Hundreds of people at the Australian Open in isolation
After a crown case at a player’s hotel for the Australian Open in Melbourne, participants, officials and employees must go into home isolation. There are a total of 500 to 600 affected people who had to isolate themselves on Wednesday. Victoria authorities announced. The names of those affected were not mentioned.
Then the organizers canceled all the games of the 6 preparatory tournaments on Thursday. Friday’s schedule will be posted at a later date. The implementation of the Australian Open is apparently not at risk.
WEF in Singapore only in August
The 2021 World Economic Forum in Singapore will take place August 17-20, according to organizers. Actually, the WEF was scheduled for May 25 and 28. Although the World Economic Forum and the Singapore government remain confident that steps have been taken to ensure a safe and efficient meeting and that local transmission of COVID-19 in Singapore remains negligible, the change in date of the meeting reflects international challenges. to contain the pandemic, write to those responsible.
Current global travel restrictions would have made it difficult to plan a face-to-face meeting in the first half of the year. Additionally, different quarantine and air transport regulations have increased the wait time required to ensure that participants from around the world can make arrangements to participate, according to a press release.
Lower threshold for hardship cases in the canton of Bern
The Berne Governing Council makes it easy for companies with accounting branches to access financial distress assistance: they are companies with several companies. They can file a hardship claim for part of their business (“division”). The novelty is that the affected division no longer has to contribute 50% of the company’s sales, but only 25%. Thanks to this reduction, according to the government, companies that have not previously met the necessary criteria can now also be supported. This amendment to the regulation is helping to ensure the survival of these companies and the jobs that accompany them.
As of noon on Wednesday, February 3, 2021, 371 applications for financial hardship had been submitted in the canton of Bern, all of which were registered and included in the assessment. Of these, 113 applications could be decided; 100 applications were positively evaluated. The guaranteed contributions for these positively evaluated applications amount to 5.91 million francs.
The press conference ended
With the words of Nora Kronig, the press conference comes to an end. Thanks for your attention. In srf.ch, in the news app and here in the live ticker, you will stay informed about the coronavirus situation.
Nora Kronig (BAG): up to 800 million Swiss francs possible for vaccines
“We started with 309 million francs,” explains Nora Kronig (BAG) when asked how much has been spent on vaccination doses so far. You now have the opportunity to receive vaccinations worth up to 800 million Swiss francs. That is a dimension that was made together with the DDPS.
Mathys: “Switzerland does not want to get into situations like in Portugal”
In some countries, the number of cases due to the mutated virus is already higher than in Switzerland. Is the federal government considering these situations to potentially learn? «Of course, we look at countries like Portugal. The situation there is dramatic, ”said Mathys. In Ireland and Great Britain, tough measures have caused a drop in the number of cases. “Switzerland doesn’t want to get into situations like Portugal’s.”
Berset doesn’t want to promise anything
A journalist wants to know what happens to the restaurants and the event organizers. Berset refers to the situation in October, which did not work out. Now you know more, but you can’t promise anything. Due to the most contagious mutation of the virus, no action can be taken for March.
Schools closed during the holidays as a reason for the stagnation of the number of cases?
During the holidays, the students were at home and not at school. Is that part of the reason why the number of cases did not skyrocket during the holidays? A journalist wants to know. “A lot of people were careful about contact with the elderly during the holiday season,” says Mathys. One suspects the cause here.
Berset seeks a path on the razor’s edge
Is there hope for summer ?, a journalist wants to know. If the vaccination goes well, “then we could have vaccinated everyone who wanted to vaccinate at the end of June / July,” says Berset. As for other aspects, he could not make any predictions. There can always be new factors influencing development. The way must be found on the edge of the knife. Berset assumes, however, that the situation will improve in summer.
Is Sputnik also an option for Switzerland?
A journalist wants to know if the Sputnik vaccine would also be an option for Switzerland. “We had followed a diversified strategy from the beginning.” Relations with Russia are pragmatic, Kronig said. But she doesn’t want to say more about this.
Nora Kronig (BAG) does not dare to predict how the vaccination plan would work without Astra-Zeneca
A journalist asks if the current non-approval of Astra-Zeneca will have an impact on vaccinating high-risk patients by March. Nora Kronig from BAG explains that you have two different quarters ahead of you. One with a lot, another with a few doses. Kronig does not want to make a prognosis, it also depends on the willingness to vaccinate.
Eliminate exceptions for children?
Would it be time to end exemptions for children, for example, the mask requirement? “The exceptions make sense,” explains Berset. We currently know too little to make a decision here. “At the moment we don’t know if children are as contagious as adults,” says Mathys. Wearing masks with young children is pointless.
Ski vacation as a virus launcher? Berset relies on existing measures
A journalist asks about the upcoming ski vacation if Berset fears the virus will spread. Berset refers to Christmas when people obeyed the rules. It also refers to measures such as closed restaurants, public transport, etc. These rules must be respected, then things could go back to being like Christmas.
Are people at risk in Switzerland vaccinated for Easter?
“If I had explained the current vaccination situation to them a few months ago, they would not have believed me,” Berset said. The situation is currently not bad. Appropriate vaccines have been used and the vaccination campaign will be intensified. Starting in the spring, everything will intensify even more. At the moment the goals seem realistic ”.
Berset believes in keeping the vaccination schedule
A journalist asks if the goal of vaccinating everyone who is willing to vaccinate before the end of the summer can be achieved. “We are optimistic that we will be able to reach the vaccination target, even with the additional contracts as additional help,” Berset responds.
Federal Council: “School closings are not a priority”
The issue of school closings also comes up at today’s press conference. “The closure of a school is not in the foreground, and it all depends on the cantons,” Berset said. The question is also whether the new mutations change anything when it comes to children. Patrick Mathys from BAG explains that they know that children can carry the virus. There are also many asymptomatic carriers. “The task now is to analyze the situation.”
BAG on vaccination doses: “We want to be armed”
A journalist asks why they ordered more doses of vaccines than residents would need. Nora Kronig from BAG says they want to protect themselves. It is not yet known how long the vaccines will be effective. You want to be prepared for any mutation.
