Today: Tuesday, 16 April 2024 year

Switzerland rejects further lockdown despite ‘worrying’ situation

Switzerland rejects further lockdown despite ‘worrying’ situation

The Swiss federal government believes that further lockdown will hurt the economy badly, The Local Switzerland has learned.

Despite the current ‘worrying’ situation, the Alpine nation will take no additional coronavirus measures. The recent package of the anti-virus measures, which has been taken into effect since December 18th, COVID-19 infection numbers remain high across the country.

On the ve of New Year, the Swiss government has issued the statement, in which the situation was called a “worrying”. At the same time, the top officials insisted on highlighting “the appearance of two coronavirus variants in Switzerland”.

Despite preventive measures and “after a detailed analysis of the epidemiological situation, the federal council came to the conclusion that the criteria set for further tightening were not met.”

The coronavirus R-rate – the crucial metric which determines how the virus is spreading throughout the community – is currently below 1, although this may be representative of fewer tests taking place across the festive period and could rise due to Christmas gatherings.

The Swiss federal council said it was imperative to increase the number of tests in the coming year, along with improving Switzerland’s COVID-19 contact tracing infrastructure.