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The Federal Council has regained control of the crown measures. In an interview, Federal President Simonetta Sommaruga comments on why it wasn’t done earlier and reveals how she will celebrate Christmas this year.
Simonetta sommaruga
Federal president
SRF: Madam Federal President, the federal government wanted to regain control of the issue. Does that mean that the typically Swiss federalist approach has not worked?
Simonetta Sommaruga: I wouldn’t say it didn’t work. But, of course, it is a fact that we have high levels of contagion that are increasing very quickly and rapidly. Our hospitals are on the edge. Hospital staff in particular are very stressed. In this situation, the Federal Council said that we had to take uniform national measures, and therefore today decided to reduce the number of contacts and therefore also the number of infections.
They say the numbers are bad. Why didn’t you pick up the book much earlier?
Some cantons had reduced the numbers with some strict rules. In Switzerland as a whole, we have a very difficult situation today. That is why the Federal Council said that we must act quickly. We did that.
Now it is important for the population to know exactly what is applied throughout Switzerland.
Now it is important for the population to know exactly what applies throughout Switzerland. Some cantons took action last week. We also give them some consideration and have therefore created certain exceptions.
Exceptions, isn’t that exactly the problem? A lot of people tell me that they can’t keep up, which is exactly what applies now. Haven’t you lost people a long time ago?
No, but it’s actually difficult when something else applies everywhere. That is why the Federal Council came out in favor of uniform rules. Shops, restaurants and sports facilities close from 7:00 p.m. Everyone can reorient themselves. And that is exactly what the Federal Council wanted to achieve.
You are restricting restaurants, they have to close at 7 pm At first you wanted to go further in the private sphere. Withdrew it again today. 10 people can still meet privately. Why are you more cautious than in the restaurant business?
We have re-analyzed the situation. The holidays are coming soon, people want to get together. You also want to meet other families and that is why we recommend that no more than 10 people get together. But preferably not from too many homes. We now know that the more people from different households come together, the greater the risk of getting infected.
What can you do without you at Christmas to keep infection rates low?
Like everyone else, I refrain from inviting friends and other families. I also would have liked to cook more. I can still cook, but only in a very small group. It is the same for everyone in our country. We miss cultural events. We miss the big sporting events. We have a long way to go. But let’s try what little we can do to make ourselves happy. And I think if we stick together now, then a lot is possible. It is also a great prospect that at the end of this crisis we can celebrate Christmas in a completely different way. I’m looking forward to that and I think many others are as well.
The interview was conducted by Gion-Duri Vincenz.
