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Engelberger warns of testing insanity
Lukas Engelberger, president of the Conference of Health Directors, rejects harsh criticism from the cantonal epidemiologist Marcel Salathé for the slow delivery of contact tracing test results. All cantons are very committed, Engelberger said in an interview with «Sunday newspaper». In Switzerland, more than 1,500 people are currently in isolation and more than 5,000 contact persons are in quarantine. In addition, there would be 12,000 people in quarantine from entry. They are impressive figures. Engelberger warned against a test of insanity. Currently, around 10,000 tests are carried out during the week. Too many negative tests could lead to a false certainty.
Contact tracking problem
For its part, the canton of Aargau confirms problems with contact tracing. It clearly places them in the labs. From the test, the nasopharyngeal swab, to the receipt of the lab results, it would take about 24 to 36 hours, the Aargau Health Department writes upon request. «Sunday newspaper». In private labs, it can take up to three days. The delays in the evaluation mean that the follow-up of the contract can only start when the test results are available to the cantonal authorities. The cantons of Bern and Zurich also confirm problems with laboratories.
Report against Postbus
Liechtenstein transport companies have filed a complaint against PostBus with the prosecutor and the surveillance authority of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). That’s what “NZZ am Sonntag” reports. The businessmen claim 35 million francs in damages. Reason: The Swiss subsidiary of PostBus in Liechtenstein was awarded the contract to operate the bus routes in the Principality thanks to cross-subsidization from the black coffers in Switzerland. In 2010, PostBus Liechtenstein secured the ten-year contract with a volume of 160 million francs. A PostBus spokesperson emphasized that there was no claim for compensation.
So far, older employees have been saved
Older employees have weathered the economic crisis quite well as a result of the corona pandemic. That could change in the coming months. Michael Siegenthaler, a KOF employee at ETH Zurich, sees parallels with the 2008 financial crisis, according to “SonntagsBlick”. At that time, it was also mainly young people who lost their jobs in the first months after the outbreak of the crisis. In the second wave of layoffs, however, older employees were affected. Long-term unemployment could account for a third of all unemployed in the next year. Last January it was only 12 percent. Labor market expert George Sheldon even believes that a 40 percent share is possible.
No election recommendation from the SVP for its own federal judge
The leader of the SVP parliamentary group, Thomas Aeschi, according to information from the “SonntagsBlick”, urges the judicial commission of the federal councils not to make an electoral recommendation for its own federal judge, Yves Donzallaz. The new federal judges will be elected on September 23. Donzallaz was publicly criticized by SVP MPs in the summer of 2019. The SVP is now inviting the judge to a hearing in front of the parliamentary group. There had already been an argument between Donzallaz and the then SVP party chairman, Albert Rösti, in the spring. Donsallaz emphasized the independence of the judiciary.
Challenges for the winter season
Rail operators in Swiss ski areas are facing winter scenarios of how they can maintain operations despite Corona requirements. As the «Sunday newspaper» reported, operators should wait for protection measures to be strengthened. One scenario is restrictions on the number of guests. There were still tough questions: for example, who was allowed to travel first or what would happen to repeat guests who had a season ticket. Currently, these issues are intensively debated in the railway management bodies.
Offensive for the corporate responsibility initiative
Hundreds of parishes are launching an offensive for the corporate responsibility initiative. It also uses ready-made sentences. A selection of prepared sermons is offered on a website. It criticizes the groups Glencore, Syngenta and Nestlé. The “Church for Corporate Responsibility” campaign aroused great interest, quoted “NZZ am Sonntag”, its spokesperson Katharina Boerlin. So far, more than 500 parishes have participated. The Bishops’ Conference, the Evangelical Reformed Church and the Free Churches had already declared their support in February.
Assange waits for Switzerland
John Shipton, Julian Assange’s father, hopes that his son will receive a humanitarian visa in Switzerland. In an interview with “SonntagsBlick”, Shipton said it was the best option for Assange. A Geneva hospital specializes in treating torture victims. The support from Switzerland is enormous. She has already been in contact with the Swiss authorities on an informal level. The United States is pushing for Assange’s extradition. They accuse the founder of Wikileaks of having published secret information. If convicted of all 18 charges, Assange faces a prison sentence of up to 175 years. Assange denies the accusations. Another hearing will take place on September 7.
Climate-friendly 5G cellular technology
The University of Zurich and the Federal Research Institute Empa, in collaboration with the Swiss Cleantech Association and Swissom, have examined how climate-friendly 5G mobile technology is. The result: if the mobile network is operated with 5G instead of 4G in 2030, this will cause 86 percent less greenhouse gases per gigabyte transmitted. The researchers assume that data traffic will increase roughly eightfold by 2030. They also examined the climate protection potential of 5G applications, such as flexible work or digital farming. According to the study, substantial savings in greenhouse gases can also be registered here.
Pressure on the auto industry eased
According to information from the Sunday newspaper “Le Matin Dimanche” from French-speaking Switzerland, the Federal Council has decided to relieve pressure on the automobile industry to reduce CO2 emissions. In the latest revision of the CO2 ordinance, the limit values for CO2 emissions were lowered. Car importers can, however, exclude the most important air pollutants from the calculation. The ordinance excludes 15 percent of the most damaging automobiles from the calculation for the current year. Next year it will be 10 percent. For comparison: in the EU, the values are 5 and 0 percent.
