Vaccinations will begin this month. In the meantime, the Swiss federal government has confirmed another raft of national measures to curb the spread of the virus.
- On December 20 Switzerland banned flights from the UK and South Africa following reports of a new strain of coronavirus. People who had entered Switzerland from those countries since December 14 were ordered to go into a ten-day quarantine.
- Swissmedic has approved a first vaccine from Pfizer/BioNTech. The first doses will arrive any day now. The cantons are bringing forward their vaccination campaigns.
- Switzerland has reserved about 15.8 million vaccine doses from Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca.
- Switzerland will close all restaurants and bars, sports and recreation centres and other cultural institutions for a month from December 22; ski areas can remain open, the government announced on December 18.
- Cantons which have a reproduction rate number under 1 or a seven-day case average that is under the Swiss average may relax the measures for restaurants and sports centres.
- The government also urged people to stay home to reduce stubbornly high coronavirus infection rates. This follows a raft of federal measures introduced on December 11.
- The federal government has increased its compensation fund for hard-hit companies by CHF1.5 billion ($1.69 billion) to CHF2.5 billion.
- Travel is mostly possible between Switzerland and the European Union, EFTA countries and the UK. But quarantine measures may apply.
- Citizens and residents of non-Schengen countries can enter Switzerland only in exceptional cases. A list of non-Schengen countries not affected by this ban can be found here. Citizens and residents of Switzerland may always enter Switzerland.
- Those who come to Switzerland from “high-risk” countries and regions must undergo a ten-day quarantine or face a fine. The list of countries and regions deemed high-risk is updated regularly by the authorities.
- The complete updated data on the pandemic can be found via the “Coronavirus: the latest numbers” link or article below.
Morehttps://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss-stats_coronavirus–the-latest-numbers-/45674308