This week, 171,085 new Covid-19 cases were reported in Switzerland, up 42% from the 120,901 cases reported a week earlier. In addition, the reported number of Covid-19 patients hospitalised leapt too. This week 482 were admitted, up 37% from 352 the week before. Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.comThe 7-day average case number had been in constant decline since the end of January 2022. However, the number of new cases turned upwards towards the end of February. On 11...
Read More »Covid: weekly cases and hospitalisations rising again in Switzerland
This week, 120,9017 new Covid-19 cases were reported in Switzerland, up 24% from the 97,335 cases reported a week earlier. In addition, the reported number of Covid-19 patients hospitalised edged up slightly from 340 to 352 compared to the week before. Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.comThe 7-day average case number had been in constant decline since the end of January. However, the number began to turn upwards in the days leading up to the end of February. On 4...
Read More »Covid: weekly cases and hospitalisations fall further as Switzerland drops nearly all measures
This week, 118,555 new Covid-19 cases were reported in Switzerland, down 25% from the 157,683 cases reported a week earlier. The reported number of Covid-19 patients hospitalised also fell 20% from 492 to 392 across the week. Photo by Polina Tankilevitch on Pexels.comCovid-19 deaths were also down. Across the week, 61 Covid-19 related deaths were reported, a figure 13% lower than the 70 reported the week before. In addition, the number of Covid-19 patients in...
Read More »Overwhelming majority of ICU patients in Switzerland unvaccinated, show data
© Sudok1 | Dreamstime.com On 25 January 2022, a study published by Zurich University Hospital found that 97% of Covid-19 ICU patients since the start of Switzerland’s Covid-19 vaccination campaign were unvaccinated. The study evaluated hospital data from 964 Covid-19 patients who were treated in intensive care units in Swiss hospitals in the nine months since the start of Switzerland’s vaccination campaign. Of these only 33 (3%) were vaccinated with one of the two...
Read More »The concept of a 4-day week makes headway in Switzerland
A 4-day work week on 100% pay has become a reality at some small businesses in Switzerland, reports RTS. © Marek Uliasz | Dreamstime.comAndreas Ott, the owner of a small graphic design studio in the canton of Aargau told the SonntagsZeitung that his clients reported no issues with staff taking Fridays off. Ott introduced the concept several years ago before he became a father. Since then the office has been closed on Fridays. He says the shorter week reduced revenue but not by 20%....
Read More »Switzerland writes off small portion of flight repatriation bill
Repatriated passengers were expected to cover 80% of their flight bills. Keystone / Salvatore Di Nolfi The majority of stranded Swiss people repatriated during the first pandemic wave have paid back their share of flight bills. But the foreign ministry has been forced to write off CHF210,000 ($230,000) and is still haggling over another CHF360,000. In spring 2020, Switzerland arranged for over 7,000 people (4,000 Swiss and 3,000 non-Swiss) to be flown homeExternal...
Read More »Switzerland set to tax e-cigarettes
© David Johnson | Dreamstime.com On 17 December 2021, Switzerland’s Federal Council put forward a plan to tax the liquids used for e-cigarettes, reported RTS. The Federal Council is proposing a tax similar to the tax on tobacco but at a lower rate in line with e-cigarettes’ lower toxicity. The government does not want to discourage tobacco smokers from transitioning to e-cigarettes and proposes a rate 77% lower than the tax on tobacco cigarettes. The aim is to...
Read More »Cigarettes might soon cost double in Switzerland
The world is getting tougher on tobacco. This week, New Zealand’s government announced plans to make it illegal to sell cigarettes to anyone born after 2008. In Switzerland, where cigarettes are around 40% of the price in New Zealand, an anti-smoking association has called for prices to be hiked from CHF 8 to CHF 14 a packet, reported 20 Minutes. © Jaochainoi | Dreamstime.comAccording to the Swiss Association for Tobacco Control (AT), hiking the price of cigarettes will cut the number of...
Read More »Majority of Swiss in favour of compulsory vaccination, according to poll
© Wolfgang Spitzbart _ Dreamstime.com According to poll results published over the weekend, 53% of those surveyed in Switzerland were in favour of making Covid-19 vaccinations compulsory, a percentage that rose to 69% for those working in the health sector, reported 20 Minutes. Overall, the percentage supporting compulsory vaccination was higher in German-speaking Switzerland (53.4%) than among French speakers (50.2%). The largest variation was across age groups....
Read More »Cyber-bullying and stalking on the rise in Switzerland
Online harassment and cyberstalking are increasingly widespread in Switzerland, according to a recent survey. And the problem is no longer confined young people, reported RTS. © Katie Nesling | Dreamstime.comThe survey, which questioned 4,000 18-65 year olds in Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland between 2 and 11 August 2021, found that the number of cases of harassment had increased by 10.6% since 2018. 39% of those surveyed said they had been harassed at least once....
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