Tag Archives: Editor’s Choice

© Alessandro Melis | Dreamstime.com Switzerland’s federal government has increased the amount of money earmarked for SARS-CoV-2 vaccines by CHF 100 million, bringing the total to CHF 400 million. The announcement came as preliminary trials of a vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech found it to be more than 90% effective in preventing Covid-19 in participants without evidence of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection. Switzerland had already set aside money to buy 4.5 million...

Between the 3rd quarter 2019 and the 3rd quarter 2020, the number of people employed in Switzerland fell by 0.4% (–21 000). In addition, weekly hours worked per employee decreased by 2.7%. © Ginasanders | Dreamstime.comDuring the same period, the unemployment rate in Switzerland as defined by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) increased from 4.6% to 5.3%. At the end of September 2020, 260,000 workers were without work, an increase of 35,000 compared to the same date in 2019....

Swiss cantons have very different tax bases, tax rates and costs. To even things up rich cantons are required to help those with less money via a system set up in 2008 known as the péréquation financière nationale (French) or Nationaler Finanzausgleich (German). Zug pays the most – © Avkost | Dreamstime.comThis week, the government decided on next year’s payments. The system relies on complicated formulae based on the tax and cost bases of each canton. In 2021, the top three payers...

Deaths because of and with Covid19 Over the 7 days to 13 November 2020, Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) reported 553 deaths among laboratory-confirmed Covid-19 cases, bringing the death toll to 1,229 since summer and 2,960 since the beginning of the year. The 553 reported deaths this week represent 19% of the total so far, making the last 7 days the deadliest 7-day period since the virus arrived in Switzerland. There are currently 3,945 Covid-19...

© Lauvergnat Laurent | Dreamstime.com Public worker absenteeism in Geneva costs at least CHF 285 million, according to Heidi.news, which calculated the sum based on information contained in an internal document. According to the news service the cost of absenteeism, which continues to rise, is equivalent to 11% of the 2.54 billion spent public sector workers’ salaries in 2019 and 3% of the canton’s total public sector spending that year. This is the first time that...

Public worker absenteeism in Geneva costs at least CHF 285 million, according to Heidi.news, which calculated the sum based on information contained in an internal document. © Lauvergnat Laurent | Dreamstime.comAccording to the news service the cost of absenteeism, which continues to rise, is equivalent to 11% of the 2.54 billion spent public sector workers’ salaries in 2019 and 3% of the canton’s total public sector spending that year. This is the first time that such information has...

New Infections On 9 November 2020, Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) reported 17,309 new laboratory-confirmed Covid-19 cases over 72 hours, bringing the total to 229,222. The 24-hour average number of new cases of 5,770 recorded over the weekend is lower than the previous weekend when it was 7,309 (21,926 over 72 hours). However, Alain Berset, the minister in charge of health care in Switzerland, told an audience in Jura that now is not the time...

© 8213profoto | Dreamstime.com On 5 November 2020, Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) reported 62 deaths among laboratory-confirmed cases of Covid over 24 hours, bringing the total death toll since summer to 606. Current daily deaths are not far from the peak level reached during the first wave over spring, according to FOPH data. In addition, FOPH reported a further 399 hospitalisations over 24 hours. There are currently 3,428 Covid-19 patients in...

Deaths because of and with Covid19 On 5 November 2020, Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) reported 62 deaths among laboratory-confirmed cases of Covid over 24 hours, bringing the total death toll since summer to 606. Current daily deaths are not far from the peak level reached during the first wave over spring, according to FOPH data. Total deaths in Switzerland since the beginning of the pandemic have reached 2,622, of which 2,337 were laboratory...

© Erik Lattwein | Dreamstime.com On Sunday 1 November 2020, Geneva’s government announced the canton would go into semi-lockdown. Bars, restaurants and non-essential businesses in Geneva are set to close at 7pm on Monday 2 November 2020. Schools will remain open. Faced with surge in cases and a steep rise in hospitalisations, the government of Geneva decided to introduce stricter measures to stem the spread of the virus. Between mid-October and 1 November 2020, the...