[ad_1]
6 million Swiss should get vaccinated before summer
The Swiss will be vaccinated against the Covid-19 lung disease early next year. The vaccines should last six months and be completed in the summer of 2021, Virginie Masserey, director of Infection Control at the Federal Office of Public Health (BAG), said in an interview with “NZZ am Sonntag.” Each canton organizes the distribution of the vaccine itself. However, in early January, not all cantons are likely to be ready. In the first phase, vaccinations would be carried out in a concentrated way in large centers. Up to 70,000 vaccinations per day are planned. The BAG would like to be able to vaccinate six million people.
Army provides refrigeration equipment for vaccines
By the end of the year, the Swiss military will have installed all the vaccine storage facilities to protect against the coronavirus. To ensure the required low temperatures, the army had to purchase refrigerators, freezers, and deep freezers. They are necessary to keep the vaccine at very low temperatures. The exact number and location of the camps could not be given for security reasons, the army announced to the French-speaking Sunday newspaper “Le Matin Dimanche”. The army wants to avoid sabotage, theft or espionage.
Pandemic costs health insurers 500 million francs
The corona pandemic is costing Swiss health insurers more than 500 million francs. This stems from an estimate by the umbrella organization Santésuisse published by the “SonntagsBlick”. This does not include amounts paid by the cantons and the federal government. Sanésuisse has included costs of 130 million francs for the first wave, 180 million for hospital treatments, outpatient costs of 40 million and 200 million francs in vaccination costs. According to Christoph Kilchenmann, Santésuisse’s chief economist, there will be no premium increases due to Corona. In this way, the costs for premium payers are manageable. You can count on the fact that no additional corona costs were incurred after the crisis.
Urban hotels desperate for lack of tourism
The city’s hotel industry is hit hard by the corona pandemic. While mountain destinations are attractive thanks to the ski areas, tourists are less attracted to cities. The level of bookings could hardly go down, Andreas Züllig, president of Hotelleriesuisse, told the “SonntagsBlick”. In the fall, tourism experts in the cities still hoped that at least the Christmas markets would be held, the Sunday newspaper writes. However, this hope was dashed by the increase in the crown number. Guglielmo Brentel, President of Zurich Tourism, hopes the vaccines will work. Suggest an internationally recognized vaccination record. Switzerland must now negotiate with other countries on the mutual recognition of such a card.
Gössi: FDP needs more emotional communication
The president of the FDP party, Petra Gössi, calls for more unity from her party after the recent electoral defeats. He announced a city and agglomeration strategy, as he told “SonntagsZeitung”. The green strategy did not harm the FDP. Without them, the party would have lost even more. Gössi locates problems in the centers and demands a more liberal commitment there, as he told the “SonntagsBlick”. The FDP needs a more direct and emotional communication that touches people more and draws them. The party could not rest on its history. You must learn to fight again. Some members would have to get used to it.
Health insurers terminate contracts with hospitals
According to the “NZZ am Sonntag”, Swiss hospitals are affected by a wave of contract cancellations. Many health insurers eventually demanded lower rates from treating hospitals and physicians for the segment of patients with private or semi-private supplemental hospital insurance. This affects a total of 1.7 million people and a premium volume of 4 billion francs. As one of the largest health insurers, CSS terminated 120 contracts with hospitals at the end of the year. It is questionable whether all the hospitals could agree to new contracts with the respective health insurance companies in early January. If there was no contract, the hospitals threatened to demand advance payment from the patient.
After a failed election: the Pope appoints bishop in Chur
The failed election of a new bishop for the Chur diocese has exposed a deep gap between the liberal and conservative camps. This is shown in the minutes of the meeting published by the “SonntagsZeitung”. Conservative canons feared a hostile takeover of the diocese by progressive churchmen. Therefore, a slim majority blocked the election of bishops. Since the canons did not exercise their electoral privilege, the Pope will now appoint a new bishop. According to theologians, the three proposed candidates can hear and recognize the diversity of the diocese.
Migration contract with China not extended
At the moment, the federal government has decided not to extend the migration contract between Switzerland and China that has been in force since 2015. An extension is basically in the interest of Switzerland. But there is no urgency, said a spokesman for the “NZZ am Sonntag” Secretary of State for Migration. The agreement will expire next Monday. It had allowed officials from the Chinese Ministry of Public Security to travel to Switzerland without official status, to stay here for two weeks, and to determine the identity of persons illegally residing in Switzerland and suspected of being Chinese nationals. The agreement drew harsh criticism from the Federal Council, which is responsible for foreign policy contracts.
